ABSTRACT
A planning inspector called the cement works a ‘major visual intrusion at a strategic point within the South Downs’, and called for the restoration of the site, with its unsightly buildings demolished or renovated and the quarry faces suitably treated. The site is considered unsuitable for a major housing development, but its potential for visitor accommodation, employment and leisure uses is recognised, especially if supported by green transport measures. The site will be entirely powered off-grid by solar PV panels in the form of solar canopies over the main parking, the covered market and the concert stage. Smaller arrays will be interspersed conveniently throughout the site for charging electric vehicles. A medium-scale anaerobic digestion unit, powered by wet organic material, creates biogas that can be compressed on-site and used to fuel converted historic buses and other vehicles.
