A CONTENTIOUS bid to build the largest solar farm in Cornwall will go to appeal before the Planning Inspectorate in September.

Downing Renewable Developments’ proposal to build the Fairpark solar farm in the Hendra valley, on 85 hectares (210 acres) of land near Mitchell, was opposed by all four parish councils in the area before being rejected by Cornwall Council’s strategic planning committee in November, despite planning officers’ warnings that refusal could lead to an expensive appeal.

A hearing is due to take place at St Erme Community Centre on Tuesday, September 16, and the same people who protested outside County Hall/Lys Kernow against the 125,000-panel solar farm – which has previously been likened to a “glass and concrete prison” – are now fighting to ensure the application is not approved on appeal.

The original application was refused on the grounds it would harm the character of the immediate rural landscape, “particularly when viewed from nearby roads and public rights of way notwithstanding the mitigation and enhancement measures proposed”.

Carland Action Group, formed by a large number of concerned local parties, has issued its own report to the Planning Inspectorate outlining why it believes the decision should not be overturned.

Downing Renewable Developments argue any impact will be temporary and limited in nature and scale, with “residual positive impacts on the landscape and biodiversity likely to result beyond the 30-year operational period”. The company stressed there will be no direct impact on the countryside beyond the appeal site.

The appeal document also states that local topography, combined with the field and hedgerow network and a patchwork quilt of woodlands, would mean the solar farm’s visual impact in the surrounding area would be very limited.

“This makes the appeal site a good location for this form of development,” argues Downing, asserting that the solar farm would be “sustainable development” and there are no material reasons why planning permission should be refused.

In a letter to the Planning Inspectorate calling for the appeal to be dismissed, the action group states that “any benefits of the development do not outweigh the extent of the harm to the landscape and ecology of the area”.

They are also concerned about possible safety issues linked to the installation of a proposed Battery Electrical Storage System (BESS) consisting of lithium ion batteries. Carland Action Group says: “No fire safety management plan is available or even reassurances as to the availability of fire prevention or suppression measures … We often refer to this as being our future Grenfell crisis; we should not underestimate the risks associated with this technology.”

The action group points out that there are ten approved or operational solar farms within a five-kilometre radius of the site, totalling 744 acres with other applications pending. This is in addition to 27 wind turbines adjacent to the land.

Among those representing the group at the appeal hearing next month will be local farmer Nick Dymond and Cornwall councillor Karen Glasson.