DESPITE originally being refused at Cornwall Council amid huge local opposition, what will be the Duchy’s largest solar farm will now be built.

A Government planning inspector has approved the Fairpark solar farm in the Hendra valley on appeal. Rosalyn Kirby heard arguments for and against the 125,000-panel solar farm on 80 hectares of agricultural land between Mitchell, Trispen, St Erme and Carland Cross last month.

Her decision to allow its construction was made last week, concluding “that the harm that would be caused to the character and appearance of the area and the conflict with the development plan is outweighed by the benefits of the proposal”.

Following a protest in November outside County Hall / Lys Kernow in Truro by those opposing the farm, a Cornwall Council planning committee refused the application, going against their own officers’ warnings that it could lead to an expensive appeal.

Those warnings proved true with applicant Downing Renewable Developments lodging an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in May. The decision has dashed the hopes of the Carland Action Group of opponents.

The huge solar farm along with a battery energy storage system (BESS) with ten battery storage containers, switchgear, transformers, substation, security and deer fencing, CCTV, security lighting, access routes, construction compound and landscaping will now be built on land adjacent to Trewaters Bungalow, south of Carland Cross, near both the A30 and A39. It will operate for 30 years.

Among the many concerns raised by opponents was its close proximity to a number of other renewable energy schemes, including the Carland Cross wind farm, Carland Cross solar scheme, Summercourt solar, Tregulock solar, Burthy solar, Hewas solar, Carnemough Farm solar and Tregassow Farm solar scheme.

“It is my judgement that the proposed development, taken with these other schemes, would not result in harmful cumulative effects upon the landscape within which it, and the other schemes are located, because of distance between them and the appeal site’s largely well contained nature,” ruled Ms Kirby.

She also stated that there was no evidence to suggest that the solar farm would impact bookings at the neighbouring Hendra Barns business, despite its owners saying that wedding inquiries have already reduced since the planning application was submitted.

Referring to concerns about the loss of agricultural land and food security, the inspector said that the land would be returned to arable food production after the 30-year operational period.

She added: “The proposal would result in harm to the character and appearance of the area in conflict with some development plan policies. That harm, however, would reduce over time as landscaping matures from most of the viewpoints identified, but a degree of harm would remain which would endure for the operational lifetime of the development of 30 years. Harm would also be caused during construction and decommissioning. This harm should be given moderate weight.

“The benefits of the scheme include its contribution to the National Planning Policy Framework’s presumption in favour of sustainable development by mitigating and adapting to climate change and moving to a low carbon economy. The proposal would contribute to Cornwall’s objective of being carbon neutral by 2030 [now 2045] and addressing the local climate emergency declaration of 2019. It would also contribute to the Framework’s target of achieving net zero by 2050.

“I am persuaded that there would be wider public benefits of the scheme of sufficient magnitude to outweigh the less than substantial harm that would be caused to each of the identified designated heritage assets and the considerable importance that this carries. Accordingly, the proposal accords with the protecting, conserving and enhancing of heritage assets of Cornwall in accordance with national legislation and policy objectives.”

A member of the Carland Action Group said: “This decision is not only a failure of the democratic process but sets a worrying precedent for future applications in that developers will be encouraged that no matter what the level of local objections or lack of support from the local planning authority (LPA), government policy will be upheld and supported by the Planning Inspector and any decision can be overturned.”

Another added: “I’m not an ‘angry’ individual by nature, but I feel angry about this. I can begin to understand why people resort to more extreme types of protest, when they feel like no one is listening.”