"This is good quality agricultural land"

Councillors reject plans for solar farm on green belt

Councillors have rejected plans for a solar farm the size of more than 80 football pitches which was due to be built on protected green belt land.

Councillors at North Yorkshire Council refused a planning application for the 49.95MW scheme in Austfield Lane, Hillam, near Selby.

The solar farm would have provided enough green energy to supply 17,000 homes and displace 107,500 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Planning officers had recommended councillors sitting on the authority’s strategic planning committee approve the scheme when they met this week.

But the committee voted to reject the plans because of the loss of good quality arable land and because the scheme was within the green belt.

Setting out the reasons for refusal, Councillor Angus Thompson said: “Whilst I fully accept that climate change is a special circumstance, this is good quality agricultural land.

“I can assure you I’m a retired farmer, I know all about sheep, I know all about arable land and grade two is good quality arable land and it’s in a green belt.”

‘Best and most valuable land’

Councillor Andy Brown added: “I think the negatives are very real.

“This is in the green belt and we have to take that seriously. It’s also got 70 per cent best and most valuable land.”

Councillor John McCartney said several other solar farms had already been approved for the Selby district.

He added: “The accumulation should say we shouldn’t put any more in the Selby district.

“I get the point about the grid connections but there’s got to be fairness as well and just raping the entire south Selby by putting solar panels on it is unacceptable.”

The meeting heard that an application for a solar farm near Malton had recently been given the go-ahead by the secretary of state after initially been refused by North Yorkshire Council.

Decision could be overturned

Councillors were warned that while the council would defend the decision to refuse the application, the decision may get overturned on appeal.

CPRE North and East Yorkshire and Hillam Parish Council had submitted objections to the application.

The parish council said the application had failed to acknowledge residents’ desire to see the green belt surrounding the village preserved.

A total of 36 objections from local residents were also submitted with their concerns including the impact on the character of the village and the surrounding landscape, the loss of good agricultural land and the scheme being proposed in the green belt.

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