Family who spent 15 years building six homes for their children left devastated by plans

A devoted couple who dedicated their lives to their five children – three of whom are severely disabled – have spoken of the trauma caused by plans for a giant solar farm nearby. Stuart and Patricia Gresty built six homes for their family near Rhosgoch, in Wales, and now employ 11 carers to provide round-the-clock support for their disabled children.

Over the last 17 years, they have built a new life for their family, having moved to Anglesey from their native Derbyshire to find the peace and quiet their children desperately need. Now both aged 63, they were hoping to retire and live out their days in Rhosgoch.

But their lives have been turned upside down by plans for two large solar farms on the island. The bigger of the two, Maen Hir, will envelop their mini complex of properties that were designed specially as respite facilities for their disabled children, North Wales Live reports.

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“Talk of the solar farm has blighted our lives for the last six months,” said Patricia. “Every morning, as soon as we get up, we start thinking about it. Maybe Stuart and I could cope but it’s going to devastate our children. They cannot deal with change and they still have no clue what’s going on.”

The two proposed solar developments will cover 3,700 acres of mostly farmland in north Anglesey, around 2% of the island. The bigger of the two, Maen Hir, is around five times the size of the UK’s largest active solar farm. Four parcels of land have been targeted and the Grestys live right by one of them.

“The panels will run up the side of our homes, they will run around the back of them,” said Patricia. “We will be almost be enveloped by black. It will destroy the freedoms our children currently have: one of our (disabled) sons has a garden which provides his own space where he listens to the birds for hours.”

The couple’s children range in age from 11 to 45 years. The eldest, and two aged 36 and 39, have profound learning difficulties. When support services in Derbyshire dwindled, they hatched a complex plan to move to Anglesey that would involve considerable self-sacrifice.

For two years, Stuart laboured alone to renovate a Rhosgoch farmhouse ready to start the transition. All in all, it took them 15 years to finish the move, finally completing the last of five conversions just 18 months before Anglesey’s solar plans were revealed.

For part of that time, Stuart and Pat lived in a static caravan while he toiled to complete more homes for their grown-up children. To fund the move in stages, they progressively sold three properties in Derbyshire in which they and their children had been living.

“I’d drive to Anglesey on Sunday night and work on the farmhouse for five days before heading back to Derbyshire on Friday night,” said Stuart, once a factory worker packing Smiths crisps before caring became a full-time job. “For two years I saw little of my family. It was very hard.

“Now what’s being proposed is unthinkable. It will destroy everything Pat and I worked so hard towards. Having put so much effort into this move, it will break my heart.”

Maen Hir is being proposed by Lightsource bp, which says the 350MW solar farm will produce enough energy to power more than 133,000 homes – more properties than across the whole of Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy. As well as investing in skills, education and jobs on the island, the company said the project will help the UK reach its net zero targets.

Given Maen Hir’s size, the final decision will rest with the UK Government. A series of public consultation events are ongoing - you can find the dates and venues here.

Public opposition is building and this week a six-hour protest and awareness event was staged in Llangefni. Among those handing out leaflets were the Gresty’s disabled children. Poignantly, they were unable to comprehend the messages they were disseminating.

The eldest is Shaun. He’s is football-mad, fervently following local teams in Amlwch, Cemaes and Llanerchymedd. “They all know him,” chuckled Patricia, who set up Amlwch All Abilities group to provide more activities in the north of the island.

“The three children have gained lots of friends on Anglesey. But they need a lot of structure. Each day they need to know what they are doing and what their eating plans are. They can’t cope with disruption. If this solar farm happens, there will be a lot of noise, traffic and visual deprivation. They won’t be able to cope.”

Of the five new homes Stuart built for his family, one was sold to pay off the couple’s mortgage. Its owner, Carl, now runs a holiday let from a converted garage.

“It’s always booked up,” said Patricia. “Anglesey relies on tourism and as Carl is a builder, he needs the extra income to get him through the winter months when work dries up. But who will come here if the countryside is lost under black panels?”

Adding to their anxiety was the letter warning them their land could be compulsorily purchased if they don’t agree to cables running through it. Although Anglesey’s solar plans have dominated their thoughts over recent months, the couple are still surprised by the wider lack of awareness on the island. Only recently a near neighbour discovered the full implications, and is now worrying how her elderly, housebound mother will manage.

Although there has been some political sabre-rattling on the island, Maen Hir is such a big project that it will be determined not by Anglesey Council or even the Welsh Government, but by Westminster. It’s left the couple with a sense of abandonment. “It feels like it’s a done deal and we’ve been left on our own,” said Patricia. “It’s depressing and it gets us down.”

Despite the bravado of protestors, Stuart senses the odds are stacked against them and that, eventually, the family will be forced to move. “We’ve spent a lot of money here,” he said. “It’s not fair that they can come in and turn our lives upside down like this.

“It’s stressing us all. If we do have to move, there’s no way our homes will achieve market value if buyers know they’re going to be surrounded by solar panels. At the very least, they should be offering proper compensation for what they’re doing to us.”