Appeal into a large solar farm development refused
A Government-appointed planning inspector is set to make a final decision
Plans for a major solar farm in Northamptonshire countryside have gone to a public hearing after developers challenged the council’s refusal.
Wood Lodge Solar Project Limited applied to build the energy facility on 145 acres of farmland by the A14, near Thrapston and Titchmarsh. At the end of last year, North Northamptonshire Council’s (NNC) planning committee threw out the plans against the recommendation of their planning officers.
Government-appointed planning inspector Philip Major is set to make a final decision on whether permission for the energy site should be granted. The Planning Inspectorate started proceedings for its two-day public hearing on Tuesday (May 20), with a decision due to be made at an unspecified date after the event.
According to the plans, the development would generate up to 49.9 megawatts for a temporary period of 50 years. The applicant said it would create enough energy to power up to 15,000 homes through green energy.
The main reasons for NNC’s refusal were the impact on the landscape and visual amenity, and loss of habitat in the protected area of the Upper Nene Valley.
‘This would completely change the rural outlook of the area’
Cllr Wendy Brackenbury, who is a ward member for Thrapston on NNC and chaired the original planning meeting where the plans were refused, told the appeal hearing that the solar farm would cause “irreversible harm” to the local area.
“The planning committee felt very strongly about this application,” she reflected.
“The village of Titchmarsh would be severely affected by traffic, but more importantly by the large-scale industrial development surrounding the village and this would completely change the rural outlook of the area.”
Campaign group Staunch (Save Titchmarsh and Upper Nene Countryside and Habitat) is fighting the appeal as a Rule 6 party. This happens when a group other than the appellant and local authority has permission to provide evidence to the inspector.
Earlier this year, NNC said it would no longer be giving evidence at the hearing to back its refusal decision. The authority stated that, though it continues to hold “legitimate concerns” in respect of the development, the reasons they gave at committee level would not be sufficient to maintain its refusal at appeal.
Several local residents attended the hearing to speak in objection to the Wood Lodge solar farm proposals.
Marion Marsh, a resident who lives near the proposed development, spoke at the hearing: “Our home is in metres of the proposed solar farm at Wood Lodge. We will be surrounded on three sides virtually right up to the boundaries.
“The visual impact from the property would be absolutely ruinous with the panels being above hedge rows. I’m deeply disturbed by the effect that the construction is going to have.”
She said that she and other residents had experienced lorries using the access roads near their homes and smashing to walls and their property when trying to navigate the lanes, which she says would “inevitably increase.”
STAUNCH also highlighted other concerns during the hearing, such as increased traffic during site construction, damage to the special protection area, habitat loss for protected bird and other species, and loss of agricultural land, among others.
‘This project has not been about abandoning farming, it’s about preserving it’
A statement from the Cheney family, who own the land in question and have been farming in the Thrapston area for more than 100 years, read: “Farming has never been easy, but in recent years it has become significantly more challenging. Like many farmers, we have to explore sustainable ways to safeguard the future of the farm.
“The land sits immediately north of the busy and noisy A14 road. We chose to diversify this area because of the proximity to the road and its limited visibility from the surrounding area.
“This project has not been about abandoning farming, it’s about preserving it. We can contribute positively to both food security and the fight against climate change.”
Speaking to the LDRS at the end of the day, Staunch secretary Sharon Cole said: “I am hopeful. To say that Staunch have very little experience of this process, I think we did very well. I just think it’s disappointing that the council didn’t say anything, even though they opposed it.
“It’s a question of fighting for what we believe is right and fighting for the truth.”
The hearing is set to continue into Wednesday (May 21), when a site visit is expected to take place.
Plans for a major solar farm in Northamptonshire countryside have gone to a public hearing after developers challenged the council’s refusal.
Wood Lodge Solar Project Limited applied to build the energy facility on 145 acres of farmland by the A14, near Thrapston and Titchmarsh. At the end of last year, North Northamptonshire Council’s (NNC) planning committee threw out the plans against the recommendation of their planning officers.
Government-appointed planning inspector Philip Major is set to make a final decision on whether permission for the energy site should be granted. The Planning Inspectorate started proceedings for its two-day public hearing on Tuesday (May 20), with a decision due to be made at an unspecified date after the event.
According to the plans, the development would generate up to 49.9 megawatts for a temporary period of 50 years. The applicant said it would create enough energy to power up to 15,000 homes through green energy.
The main reasons for NNC’s refusal were the impact on the landscape and visual amenity, and loss of habitat in the protected area of the Upper Nene Valley.
‘This would completely change the rural outlook of the area’
Cllr Wendy Brackenbury, who is a ward member for Thrapston on NNC and chaired the original planning meeting where the plans were refused, told the appeal hearing that the solar farm would cause “irreversible harm” to the local area.
“The planning committee felt very strongly about this application,” she reflected.
“The village of Titchmarsh would be severely affected by traffic, but more importantly by the large-scale industrial development surrounding the village and this would completely change the rural outlook of the area.”
Campaign group Staunch (Save Titchmarsh and Upper Nene Countryside and Habitat) is fighting the appeal as a Rule 6 party. This happens when a group other than the appellant and local authority has permission to provide evidence to the inspector.
Earlier this year, NNC said it would no longer be giving evidence at the hearing to back its refusal decision. The authority stated that, though it continues to hold “legitimate concerns” in respect of the development, the reasons they gave at committee level would not be sufficient to maintain its refusal at appeal.
Several local residents attended the hearing to speak in objection to the Wood Lodge solar farm proposals.
Marion Marsh, a resident who lives near the proposed development, spoke at the hearing: “Our home is in metres of the proposed solar farm at Wood Lodge. We will be surrounded on three sides virtually right up to the boundaries.
“The visual impact from the property would be absolutely ruinous with the panels being above hedge rows. I’m deeply disturbed by the effect that the construction is going to have.”
She said that she and other residents had experienced lorries using the access roads near their homes and smashing to walls and their property when trying to navigate the lanes, which she says would “inevitably increase.”
STAUNCH also highlighted other concerns during the hearing, such as increased traffic during site construction, damage to the special protection area, habitat loss for protected bird and other species, and loss of agricultural land, among others.
‘This project has not been about abandoning farming, it’s about preserving it’
A statement from the Cheney family, who own the land in question and have been farming in the Thrapston area for more than 100 years, read: “Farming has never been easy, but in recent years it has become significantly more challenging. Like many farmers, we have to explore sustainable ways to safeguard the future of the farm.
“The land sits immediately north of the busy and noisy A14 road. We chose to diversify this area because of the proximity to the road and its limited visibility from the surrounding area.
“This project has not been about abandoning farming, it’s about preserving it. We can contribute positively to both food security and the fight against climate change.”
Speaking to the LDRS at the end of the day, Staunch secretary Sharon Cole said: “I am hopeful. To say that Staunch have very little experience of this process, I think we did very well. I just think it’s disappointing that the council didn’t say anything, even though they opposed it.
“It’s a question of fighting for what we believe is right and fighting for the truth.”
The hearing is set to continue into Wednesday (May 21), when a site visit is expected to take place.