It is proposed to build a 20MW gas-fired generator facility in open countryside within half a mile of Bishop's Waltham. This development is close to peoples' homes. It will blight the countryside, damage our environment, undermine our heritage and raise pollution levels across the town. It will provide no jobs or benefit to the local community.

We are fighting this development.

But we need your help. Your Parish Council has already objected to this scheme. Your MP has expressed his deep concern. Hampshire Wildlife Trust, Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England, Bishop's Waltham Society have all objected to the damage to countryside, wildlife, and heritage. BBC TV news has featured the local campaign. Over 400 residents have written to the Council to object so far.

Now we need funds to pay independent experts to counter the misleading claims made by the developer.

Why? Because we know the damage this will do.

We know that this facility will produce 35-40,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, far more than the output from all the cars in Bishop's Waltham combined. 6 million trees would be need to be planted to offset the carbon produced in its lifetime.

The application is being considered by Winchester City Council right now. The developer has made a number of misleading and inaccurate claims which means it is hard for the Council to reach a safe conclusion.

This isn't just about the houses closest to the development. This will impact on air quality for all of us. It will damage the Moors SSSI and impact on the wider countryside. It will be an eyesore as seen from the King's Way and popular footpaths to the west of the town. The developer says it will be 'screened'. You can't screen 6 metre high chimneys and the exhaust plumes that will pour from them, downwind towards Bishops Waltham. You can't screen a 3 metre high acoustic wall around a site nearly the size of the pitch at St Mary's Stadium. That's why we are asking for help from those who care about the countryside to help pay for an independent, full and proper investigation into landscape and visual impact to show how much damage this will cause. In other parts of the country, clearly showing the impact on the countryside of similar schemes helped the Local Authority apply its Planning Policies and see off the development. Winchester Planning Policy is designed to protect our countryside. Let's give them the evidence they need to apply the Policy.

After all, we already know that we can't rely on the information provided by this developer. The detailed assessments show that this scheme will lead to raised levels of NO2 and other toxic pollutants for hundreds of households and will cause damage to the environment (Moors SSSI). Yet the developer says in their summary to the Planning Department that this impact is 'insignificant'.

We know that the noise impact will be much higher than the developer has admitted. We've already commissioned Southampton University to conduct independent analysis. That has shown the noise calculations provided by the developer to be inaccurate and to seriously underplay the noise impact of the scheme on the nearest homes.

We now need to address the claims made for the landscape and countryside impact.

The Planners are busy and under-resourced. It's too easy for unscrupulous developers to mislead the Council.

We need to provide accurate information now before it is too late.

Bishop's Waltham is a thriving community, rich in history and set in unspoilt Hampshire countryside. It is not the place for a power station. Help us say NO and save Bishop's Waltham and its countryside for future generations.

What can you do?

Please donate what you can afford. No matter how small, it all helps to fight this plan.

You can find out more about the plans on the Bishop's Waltham Against Power Station Facebook page

or at Winchester City Council and type 18/01337/FUL in the Search box.

Even if you can't afford to make a contribution, it's still not too late to join the 400 people who have already objected to this plan and write to the Planning Officer at planning@winchester.gov.uk quoting 18/01337/FUL and making clear that you object.