Say NO to Acorn
Hornage Farm anaerobic digester plant
Acorn Bioenergy, a company owned by Spanish investors, has applied to Buckinghamshire County Council to build an industrial-scale anaerobic digester plant on the B4011 between Long Crendon and Oakley.
The villages of Chearsley, Chilton, Easington, Ickford, Long Crendon, Oakley, Shabbington, Worminghall, Cuddington, Brill and others will all be affected by this proposal.
The proposed site is Hornage Farm, part of the Aubrey-Fletcher's Chilton Estate.
6 March
2025
UPDATE ON ACORN ANAEROBIC DIGESTER APPLICATION
Following the February update, much less to report this month.
The updated community response was submitted to the council in line with the consultation deadline on 7th February. It can be viewed on the Bucks CC planning portal – linked from saynotoacorn.co.uk. In the past couple of days, Acorn have uploaded a number of new documents, in response to our latest objection. None of these Acorn documents change anything with regards to our objections: their industrial scale plant is still entirely inappropriate in terms of its scale and location.
The team has been keeping in close contact with Bucks CC to check when the application will be considered by the Strategic Sites Committee. Unfortunately, we remain in a groundhog day situation regarding the meeting date: it’s now looking increasingly likely that the application will not be considered before the council elections on 1st May. The additional Strategic Sites committee meeting that the council arranged in February was cancelled almost as soon as it was arranged, and whilst there is still scheduled to be a meeting on Friday 14th March, our understanding is that the Acorn application will not be considered at it. Six weeks of purdah follows this, and we will then wait for the new council to be formed – and strategic sites committee members to be nominated.
All we can do for now is continue to watch and wait.
January 2025
Our campaign is reported on BBC News South
Some of you will have seen the feature on BBC South on Sunday 12th January 2025. Whilst of course these features are always shorter than you'd want them to be, hopefully it helped to raise awareness and was a good opportunity to link up with Greg Smith MP. Thanks to Ros Finney Paul Newell and Jo Grey for being involved with this.
Why shouldn't it be built?
Anaerobic digestion can be a very efficient, effective process if done at an appropriate scale in the right location, providing a means of converting animal manure into energy. However, the Acorn proposal at Hornage Farm is the wrong size of plant in the wrong location, and will have many negative impacts, both on the environment and our local communities.
- The plant could lead to a staggering 150% increase in HGV traffic through our local villages – an additional HGV passing through our villages every five minutes at peak times.
- The five, 17m high biodigester tanks will be seen from up to 10 miles away and have a huge visual impact on the surrounding countryside and villages.
- 15 acres of agricultural land would be covered with concrete, with a substantial industrial plant built on top, affecting our countryside’s natural beauty and ecology.
- Agricultural land will be converted from food crops to grow crops specifically to feed the Anaerobic Digester. This would be against the upcoming DEFRA Land Use Strategy (2024), with negative impact on food security.
- Crops and slurry will be delivered by road from considerable distance. Biogas produced will be taken by truck to sites such as Southampton or Banbury.
Acorn's application is currently being considered by the Buckinghamshire County Council's Strategic Sites Committee and is in the consultation phase. The committee will likely review it at their meeting in February 2025.
Local Parish Councils, including Long Crendon, Oakley, Chearsley, Worminghall, and Chilton, have all submitted objections to the proposal.
Community action is needed
Object Online
Sign our community objection to the application here https://tinyurl.com/yswatc4s
AND
Voice your concerns through the Bucks CC planning portal using the link below...
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The impact of the proposed development on our local communities
How could this impact our lives?
If the Hornage Farm plant is built, it will affect us in many different ways, including:
- Reduced property values
- Less safe roads for children and adults
- More potholes from increased HGV traffic
- Reduced air quality, with potential for respiratory/ allergy issues
- Increased noise pollution, building vibrations and unpleasant odours
- Loss of local nature and wildlife
- Loss of visual amenity from an Area of Attractive Landscape (AAL)
- Risk of toxic waste pollution to nearby waterways
Photos showing location, traffic and visual impact of the digester to the surrounding villages
Want to help or have questions?
Say No to Acorn is a group of residents from across villages that will be affected by Acorn's proposal. We are all pooling our skills and resources to stand up for our villages and communities. We are contributing skills we have built up from a range of backgounds including planning, sustainability, media, communications, parish council and the civil service. We have an amazing bunch of volunteers from all walks of life delivering leaflets, and, if you are reading this, you are also part of our community and we thank you. The crowdfunding campaign is being managed specifically by Alex Davis and Ros Finney, both Long Crendon residents. This page will be kept up to date with all expenditure documented publicly on the crowdfunding site. Anyone who would like further information around the financial governance of this campaign please contact hello@ADimpact.info
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