DEVON CPRE has objected to a planning application to build a solar farm and associated infrastructure on 30 acres of good agricultural land south of Arla Foods’ Taw Valley Creamery in North Tawton, adding to objections from local residents and the town council.

The proposal is for a 5-megawatt solar farm including inverters, transformers, cables, CCTV, access tracks, perimeter fencing and landscape works.

It is the third time an application has been made to construct a solar farm on this piece of arable farmland, of which more than 90 percent is classified as Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land, including 79.2 percent Grade 2 and 11.4 percent Grade 3a agricultural land.

In the land, soil and management plans submitted in support of the solar farm, the applicant acknowledges that the proposal is“not in full compliance with local and national planning policy and guidance with regard to the use of BMV land.”

SSE Energy has submitted the application in partnership with the Arla factory adjacent to the site.

It would involve constructing 9,464 photovoltaic panels and associated equipment to provide energy to the plant. None of the energy produced would go to the National Grid.

The applicant's Alternative Site Assessment (ASA) considers a search area of approximately three kilometres around the creamery, with the preferred location principally influenced by the availability and efficiency of the proposed grid connection.

Several of the alternative sites identified by the applicant are of lower agricultural quality, including Grade 4 land, while another comprises a mixture of Grade 2 and Grade 4 land.

Devon CPRE Director Penny Mills said: “Food security is becoming a major issue and good farmland should not be used to produce a negligible amount of electricity and then mostly only when the sun shines in summer during the daytime.

“The applicant has acknowledged that their proposal does not comply with local and national planning guidance. Ease of access to a grid connection should not determine this application; the use of BMV land is avoidable. Other sites with lower-quality farmland could reasonably accommodate the development through appropriate design, mitigation or alternative connection arrangements.

“We stand alongside residents and North Tawton Town Council in opposing this application on land where two previous applications have been refused. No should mean no!”

Since the paper first reported on the proposals, the number of objections lodged with West Devon Borough Council has risen from 35 to 41, while representations in support have increased from two to four.

A decision on the application is pending. The public consultation will run until September 17. To view or comment on the application, visit the West Devon Planning Portal at westdevon.planning-register.co.uk.

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