A solar farm that could be capable of powering 15,000 homes is set to be approved in the Derbyshire countryside, despite hundreds of objections.
The plans, from Lullington Solar Park Limited, would see the solar farm built on agricultural land between Coton in the Elms and Lullington in South Derbyshire.
If approved, the 173-acre scheme would spread across numerous fields including land to the east and west of Lullington Road up to what is known locally as Coton Road. it would be approximately the size of 87 football pitches.
The plans have been met with widespread opposition, with 211 objections being filed by residents and numerous objections being submitted by parish councils, the local county councillor and South Derbyshire MP Heather Wheeler.
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A decision will be made by South Derbyshire District Council on Tuesday, July 26, with planning officers recommending approval – seeing the environmental benefits as outweighing the negative impact.
Officers write that the amount of energy created to power homes, a net gain of habitat improvement including new hedges, trees and wildflowers, and the economic benefit during the construction stages outweigh the loss of dozens of acres of higher quality agricultural land and the impact on the countryside landscape.
However, the sheer weight of objections against the plans could prove to be enough to counterbalance this recommendation, with district councillors ultimately making a decision on the scheme.
It is the second major solar scheme being proposed in South Derbyshire. A much larger proposal is being planned four miles north between Rosliston and Walton-on-Trent, with a 540-acre development capable of powering 40,000 homes – all those in South Derbyshire.
Overseal Parish Council has objected to the Lullington scheme, saying it has “serious concerns” about the impact from large vehicles travelling to and from the development along the A444.
Lullington Parish Council is also opposing the plans, claiming 90 per cent of households in its jurisdiction have said they are against the scheme.
It says “trivial” amendments to the plan suggest a “contemptuous disregard for the fundamental nature of local objections”.
The parish council also claims the solar farm applicant is the landlord for a number of houses and farms in the area “meaning many residents have felt unable to respond publicly to these proposals as a result of anxiety over ongoing tenancies”.
It says the “massive scale and industrial nature” of the scheme is “completely inappropriate in such close proximity to a conservation area rich in interesting, historical and listed buildings”.
The parish council says the development would “lead to a loss of tranquillity and to the destruction of a sensitive and historic rural landscape”.
It says fencing around the site would hinder the movements of deer and badgers.
Drakelow Parish Council has objected to the scheme, saying it would have an “unacceptable” cumulative impact on wildlife.
Netherseal and Coton in the Elms parish councils have also objected, saying the plan would result in the loss of good agricultural land, supporting concerns about traffic and the visual impact on the surrounding area.
Cllr Stuart Swann, who represents the area on Derbyshire County Council, also objects to the plans due to “the likely environmental impacts of the proposals, particularly their adverse impacts on the countryside and the loss of an extensive area of good quality agricultural land; impacts on ecology and flood risk, and likely harmful impacts on the local communities of Coton in the Elms and Lullington, including through increased HGV traffic generated by the scheme”.
The county council’s planning officials have also lodged objections, writing: “The excessive scale and extent of the application proposals are out-of-scale with the scale and nature of the two settlements they relate closest to at Coton in the Elms and Lullington and the nature of the landscape and open countryside within which the application proposals are located.”
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust says it does not oppose the plans, providing there are gaps left in the fence for mammals such as brown hare to retain access.
Heather Wheeler, South Derbyshire MP, said: “I do not believe the loss of agricultural land outweighs any ‘green’ benefits for this development and object to this planning application.”
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has opposed the plan saying the scheme has “unacceptable” and “detrimental” impact on “what is clearly high value landscape”.
Among the 211 objection letters submitted by residents are comments saying: “We should be encouraging sustainable food production at a local level and not taking away the land from the farming community. This is particularly pertinent in the aftermath of Brexit and the challenges presented by the pandemic.”
“This scheme would place a massive industrial site 10 times bigger than the footprint of the village right on its borders.”
“Solar farms are not efficient enough in the UK weather and we need to move to tidal power or nuclear power to make our green and pleasant land ‘greener’”.
“We as residents who moved out to areas such as this to enjoy the countryside which we have paid a premium for are slowly watching our beautiful countryside disappear under new housing estates, industrial monstrosities, and now this.”
“The areas dedicated to solar farms can later be designated as ‘brownfield’. I am concerned that this could eventually clear the way for further unnecessary development in this area.”
Council officers, recommending approval, wrote: “Overall, the proposed development will give rise to significant impacts to the local landscape in terms of its character and visual amenity and result in a significant loss of best and most versatile agricultural land.
“However, it is considered that this impact would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits as outlined above that would arise from the proposed development.”
The Rosliston solar plan is being decided nationally by the Planning Inspectorate over the next couple of years, with the district council already pledging a lengthy and costly battle against the scheme – which would be the UK’s largest.
