Maiden Newton solar farm plans REJECTED
Councillors thought it would 'dominate the landscape'
Plans for a solar farm within Dorset's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Maiden Newton has been rejected by councillors.
They decided that, despite it having the capacity to produce electricity for more than 4,700 homes, the Cruxton Farm site would 'dominate the landscape' and 'have a negative effect on a section of the 200-mile long national Macmillan Trail'.
The company behind the application, Enviromena, said although there had been a small number of objections; most local people, including Maiden Newton parish council, had supported the plans to use two field to generate 11.8MW of power a year, over 40 years.
Planning officers, the Dorset Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team and Natural England all argued that the scheme would cause harm to the AoNB and that the developers had failed to make a case for why they could not build somewhere else.
AoNB officer Richard Brown said the elevated position in open land meant the panels would be seen as 'an isolated and discordant man-made element in the attractive upland landscape' adding it would have a 'significant impact' on the uninterrupted panoramic views, tranquillity and undeveloped rural character.
Cllr Sherry Jespersen said there were thousands of acres elsewhere in Dorset to build a solar farm where it would not dominate the landscape, or event affect the AoNB:
“The harm to the AoNB and the Macmillan Way would be substantial…we are all aware of the need for sustainable electricity, but we also need to be aware of our responsibility to look after our AoNB. If we let it get chipped away, it’s gone forever."
Bridport Green councillor Kelvin Clayton said he would support the application, siding with the parish council, telling the meeting:
“Much of this decision is subjective and I thought the impact was negligible.”
Mark Harding, agent for Enviromena, said the company said the hedge planting, bat, bee and bird boxes, together and other landscaping measures would result in a net gain for biodiversity in the area:
“We have a clear commitment to leave places we touch in a better condition than when we arrived."
He said the visual impact of the site would be acceptable and any harm would be outweighed by the public benefits in both the local and national interest.