A husband plans to install 40,000 solar panels on the couple's farm land, greatly upsetting his wife who feels it will ruin the landscape. While the husband believes it is important for the farm's future revenue, the wife is organizing opposition and fears it will damage property values and socially isolate her. They are in conflict as the husband moves forward with the plans despite the wife's strong objections to the project.

1. RGG-EO1-S2
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Price 80plocal news all day every day
Neck-break
victim meets
her rescuer
Pacific rowing
attempt ends
over safety
Page 7
Anger over
cuts planned
for the library
Page 22
Inside
East Grinstead
East Grinstead
Page 9
Lingfield
5 BMXs
UP FOR
GRABS
Page 29
Glitz and glamour at
East Grinstead and
Lingfield school proms
Pages 10, 14 & 22
5x £100
VOUCHERS
TO BE WON
Page 24
COUPLE AT WARWife’s fury at husband’s plans to erect 40,000 solar panels
I Turn to page 5
at them.
“I said to Robert, ‘What was the
point of moving here if we’re
going to look out over fields of
blue panels?’
“He’s just looking at the return
he’s going to get. There are
gluttons working for him – sharks
who want their money.
“It’s like World War Three in
our house at the moment.”
Ostracised
The former nurse is
not only worried about
the view from her
house, but also that
she will be
ostracised from
the community
over the plans.
“I’ve seen the
affect this can
have on land own-
ers in the com-
munity,” she said.
“I want people to
know I’ve got noth-
ing to do with it.”
Mrs Young is now
looking to organise a
campaign against her hus-
band’s plans and will be
“down at the planning office”
at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Young thinks her fears are
unfounded. He said: “I think she
Exclusive by Jo Gilbert
jo.gilbert@egcourier.co.uk
A HUSBAND and wife are “at
war” over his plans to erect 40,000
solar panels which will be visible
from their home.
Robert and Sue Young, of
Barrow Green Farm, Haxted
Road, Lingfield, have been
married for 43 years but are
“approaching World War Three”
as he bids to install the 1m x 1.6m
panels on 55 acres of their land at
neighbouring Park Farm.
The panels would be visible
from Haxted Road and
cottages by Park Farm.
Mr Young believes he
has seen the light regard-
ing the benefits of solar
energy, but Mrs Young
is not impressed.
The 69-year-old
explained: “No one
wants to drive
past and look at
fields and fields
of solar panels.
“It will blight
the whole valley and
devalue house prices.
They don’t belong here
in this beautiful place.
“Our house is on one
side of the valley and the
solar panels will be on the
other, so we will look straight
CLASH: Sue Young is
furious at the prospect of
40,000 solar panels being
erected on their land but
husband Robert says it is
a vital revenue stream for
their farm Photo by Stuart Douglas

2. Wednesday, June 25, 2014 5RGG-EO1-S2
News
Wife ready to campaign against husband’s solar panel plan
I From page 1
Meet Courier news
team for a chat
Every Wednesday, a reporter from the
Courier pops in to East Grinstead
Library for a couple of hours, to chat to
our readers.
If you have a story you would like to
tell, an event you would like to plug, or
even if you would just like to say hello,
why not pop in too?
Dave Comeau will be in the library
today, from around noon.
You’re welcome
EAST GRINSTEAD: East Grinstead
Town Council’s finance and general
purposes committee next meets
tomorrow (Thursday).
Members of the public are welcome
to attend in the council chamber, at
East Court, from 7pm.
I To view the agenda online, visit
www.eastgrinstead.gov.uk
Tell the police
EAST GRINSTEAD: Residents can
discuss their issues and concerns with
officers at the next neighbourhood
panel meeting.
Police will be on hand to talk to
people at East Grinstead police station,
at East Court, on Wednesday, July 16,
from 7.30pm.
I To find out more, call 101 or e-mail
contact.centre@sussex.pnn.police.uk
Fun of the fair
EAST GRINSTEAD: Baldwins Hill
Primary School is to host its carnival-
themed summer fair.
The event, which ties in with the
World Cup, will include fun and games
for all the family, as well as face
painting, a tug of war and more.
It will be opened at 11am on
Saturday, July 5, by a Carnival of
Colours procession, in which children
will paradetheir hand-crafted props
and costumes. The fair runs until 2pm.
Ringing explained
EAST GRINSTEAD: A guest speaker
from the Beachy Head ringing group
will give a talk on the work of the
organisation at the next East Grinstead
RSPB meeting.
Bob Edgar will deliver the
presentation, in the Main Hall at East
Court, tonight (Wednesday) from 8pm.
People of all ages are welcome to
attend, and admission is £3 for
members or £4 for guests.
In brief
Power generated despite the cloudsthinks it’s going to be worse than it is.
There are no footpaths across the land, and
Southern Solar will be planting hedges to
make sure that the panels aren’t visible
from the road.”
Mr Young adds that the new revenue
stream the panels would provide is vital to
the farm’s future.
“In the current climate, the farming
industry is very up and down,” he
explained.
“We need to look at generating new
types of income and this will ensure a
future for our children and grandchildren
in the area.”
The plans were the subject of a public
consultation run by Southern Solar – the
renewable energy company which has
been lined up to erect the panels – at
Dormansland Memorial Hall last Wednes-
day (June 18).
Objections
Over the course of a year, the panels
would generate enough renewable energy
to power 3,500 houses between Dormans-
land and Crowhurst, in East Sussex.
But there have been objections raised by
locals who are concerned that they will
“blight” the countryside.
A planning application is pending, and
if granted, the panels would generate
approximately £55,000 a year.
THE solar panels Mr Young
wants to install are supplied by
Southern Solar and do not need
much sunlight to work.
In fact, they would still be
able to generate electricity on a
cloudy day.
Chris Sowerbutts, of
Southern Solar, said: “You don’t
have to be a martyr to be
energy efficient.
“It’s not enough to rely on
being energy efficient, we have
to come up with new ways of
generating power.
“We want the community to
be behind this and tell us what
they do and don’t like about it.”
Oliver Harwood, a partner at
chartered surveyors RH & RW
Clutton, in East Grinstead,
which represents Mr Young,
added: “We desperately need
renewable sources of energy. A
lot of people think climate
change is a myth. This is a vital
resource to the community and
helps to displace fossil fuels.”
TWO years of fundraising and
hard work to buy a new minibus
for a Lingfield care home
culminated in a celebration on
Saturday, as the new set of
wheels finally rolled in.
Staff at Orchard Court, in East
Grinstead Road, have been
working tirelessly for funds
since the home’s last minibus
failed its MOT in 2012 and was
too expensive to maintain.
An open day and fete was held
after the new minibus was
unveiled by Tandridge District
Council chairman Liz Parker.
Tandridge district councillor
for Felbridge Ken Harwood will
be one of the volunteer drivers of
the bus. He said: “It was a very
proud and exciting day for the
home, the friends and staff who
have worked over a long period
to raise the money for the bus.”
AN EAST Grinstead nursery has been
seeking donations of bottles – empty or
otherwise – for its forthcoming summer
fair.
Toddlers at Yarburgh Community Pre-
School, in Highfield Road, helped to collect
items as they spent the day in their
pyjamas on Friday, as part of an activities
week.
The bottles will be used for prizes at the
fair, which takes place on Saturday, July 12,
from 11am to 2pm.
Everyone is welcome to join he fun. To
find out more, call 01342 323215.
AN amazing video shot by teachers at Sack-
ville School to say an entertaining farewell
to year 11 students has found its way onto
YouTube – with hilarious results.
The two-minute video pays tribute to some
of the world’s biggest music stars, including
One Direction, Britney Spears, Celine Dion
and pop’s wild-child Miley Cyrus.
And if the video becomes an internet sen-
sation, it could well be much to the embar-
rassment of Head of Year 11 Sean Maywood,
who swings in on a gym rope in a parody of
Miley Cyrus’ 2013 hit Wrecking Ball.
Clearly game for a laugh, Mr Maywood
was talked into reprising his Miley per-
formance on the evening of the school prom
last Wednesday, when he was dragged onto
the dance floor by students to re-enact his
video performance in person.
He said: “When Wrecking Ball came on
they dragged me on the dance floor – let’s just
say that it ended in a knee slide and the need
for a new pair of trousers.”
Teachers’ video is YouTube smash
At last home
can get back
on the road
Loop dilemma will
take time to resolve
£10,000 needed
to tell the Tale
TWO village theatre companies
are still seeking donations to
fund their production of The
Tale of The Pig.
A free festival was put on in the
centre of Forest Row on Sunday,
June 15, to raise money for the
collaboration between Atelier
Community Theatre, based in the
village, and Pericles Theatre
Company, of West Hoathly.
More than £1,000 has been
raised, but the groups need
£10,000 to fund rehearsals, put
the show on at local venues, and
take it on a tour of the UK.
I To make a donation or to find
out more, visit www.facebook.
com/thetaleofthepig
Wakeup!It’stime
for fun fairaction
SLEEPY HEADS: Eris Dickenson, Ciaran
McMahon and Maisie Creighton wore their
pyjamas as part of an activities week
BIG TURNOUT: Residents,
families and visitors packed the
gardens for the minibus unveiling
Dave Comeau
dave.comeau@egcourier.co.uk
A THREE-WAY tug of war over
an overgrown tract of land on a
disused railway line in East
Grinstead could be avoided if a
plan to turn it into a public cycle
and walkway is accepted by all
landowners.
The piece of land – known as St
Margaret’s Loop – is jointly
owned by East Grinstead Town
Council, Martell’s and sustain-
able transport charity Sustrans.
But while the council wants
to create a green space and open
it up to the public, Sustrans may
develop its section of it.
The loop is a piece of the
former railway line, which was
left redundant when the present
commuter line to London
replaced the former high and
low lines in the 1960s.
It runs in a loop from behind
East Grinstead station and
passes between Maypole Road
and Newlands Crescent, to the
end of Green Hedges Avenue,
and at the edge of the Martell’s
site on Charlwoods Road.
At a meeting last Thursday,
the town council’s amenities
and tourism committee
discussed what to do with its
own section of the land, which is
inaccessible at present.
The issue was added to the
agenda after Sustrans warned
that, if an agreement could not
be reached between all three
parties, Sustrans would develop
its own section independently.
But Julie Holden, the town
council clerk, says that the
council wants to keep the land
for public use and will not sup-
port any housing on the site.
She said: “There has been
some misconception in the
Neighbourhood Plan consulta-
tion that ‘resolving the issue of St
Margaret’s Loop’ meant selling it
for housing. This has not been
suggested by the town council
which has always wanted to
retain the Loop for public use as
an area of recreation.”
Corridor
The committee agreed to talk
to Sustrans and Martell’s about
creating a “green corridor”
which would include a cycle and
walkway for the public.
The plan depends on the other
two stakeholders agreeing to
allow public access from their
sections of the land.
The council’s scheme is likely
to be supported by Sustrans,
whose remit is to promote travel
by foot, bike or public transport.
However, the charity had not
responded to requests for a
comment by the time the Cour-
ier went to press. Martell’s was
also asked if the company is
supportive of the plan, but also
had not responded to requests
as the Courier went to press.
Whatever happens with the
site, it is unlikely to be any time
soon, because environmental
and planning issues will take
time to resolve.
As well as there being wildlife
which has been largely
undisturbed for a number of
years, the land has been used to
illegally dump rubbish.
“It is very, very early days,”
added Mrs Holden. “The town
council very much wants to
have a say in what happens to
the Loop, but we own only a
small part of the land and if we
fail to come to a mutual agree-
ment, the other landowners
could just do their own thing.”
I What do you think should
happen to the Loop? E-mail
edit or@egcourier.co.uk
Three-way ownership delays public space decision
WATCH AND LEARN: Sackville School
teachers as pop stars
TIME TO RE-CYCLE: St
Margaret's Loop could be a
cycle and walkway
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