Plans for a new solar farm in Highnam have been granted permission.
There are fears a village near Gloucester could be overwhelmed by solar farms as planners approve photovoltaic panels covering 64 acres of farmland.
Plans to install ground mounted solar panels and a battery energy storage system at Lassington in Highnam were given the go-ahead by borough planners yesterday (August 18) despite strong opposition from residents.
The development site area totals more than 170 acres while more than 64 of these would be covered by the solar panels. But PACE Brigadier Energy Limited's proposals have sparked serious concerns in the village due to the number of similar sites nearby.
Hingham Parish Council chairman Charlie Coats expressed these concerns as he outlined their five reasons for objection to the planning committee at Tewkesbury Borough Council.
He said the site lies less than 540 yards from a recently completed solar farm at Persh Farm in Maisemore while another scheme for a 146-acre site off Two Mile Lane was submitted to the council in March.
And plans for a solar farm at Linton Farm, which would cover 360 acres, are expected imminently as pre-application talks have taken place regarding the scheme, he said.
“Taken together, these would extend to 675 acres, meaning approximately one third of the farmland of the village would be covered in semi-industrial development,” he said.
“I would commend for your consideration the Forest of Dean District Council decision to refuse consent for a similar development at Murrels End Farm, Hartpury, on the grounds of over provision of solar farms in the locality.”
Earlier in his speech, he pointed out that almost 80 per cent of the site was classed as the best and most valuable land for growing a wide range of crops.
“Recent drought conditions and international conflicts compound the pressing need to conserve good quality land for food production,” he said.
And he also raised concerns about highway safety risks large construction vehicles would pose in Lassington Lane which is well used by cyclists and walkers.
He also said the size of the scheme would overwhelm the nearby village and would “destroy the attractive views over the whole of the Lassington Valley” and it impact the late Saxon St Oswald's Tower which is all that remains of the old parish church of Lassington.
Landowner Tony Smith, who also spoke at the meeting, said he had farmed the land all his life as previous generations of family did before him. He explained the solar scheme would provide them with the security to continue farming.
“This solar development is not about giving up our land, it is about holding onto it,” he said.
“It’s about giving the next generation the security and opportunity to continue farming here just as generations have done before.
“Today, we run a beef enterprise. We buy in young calves, rear, fatten them and ultimately sell them into the food chain.
“With this development, farming will not stop, we will continue to farm the cattle on the farm outside the solar area.
“Within the solar farm, we intend to bring sheep back onto the farm grazing beneath and under the panels.
“This is not the end of agriculture at Lassington, it is the next chapter and solar gives our family something farming has rarely been able to give us, certainty.”
Councillor Robert Vines (C, Badgeworth) proposed granting permission and this was seconded by Cllr Thomas Budge (LD, Cleeve Grange).
Cllr Vines said the application was “quite appropriate” given the country’s energy security position.
“On this particular application we are not losing the agricultural land,” he said. “We are only using it for a different purpose for the next 40 years”.
He also said the solar panels would have grass underneath which would be grazed. But Cllr Mel Gore (C, Isbourne) said she could not support the plans due to its impact on the landscape.
“I genuinely feel that the landscape harm has been played down in the weighing out of the harms,” she said.
She went on to say the landscape was still objecting to the plans despite tree planting.
“We really need to listen to that. That should have been weighted higher in the balance.”
The committee voted to grant permission by three votes to two.
