Planning Application 2/2014/0468
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Planning Application 2/2014/0468 Proposed Installation of a ground mounted photovoltaic solar farm Development: comprising solar panels, fixings, electronics, equipment housing, security measures, access and ancillary development. Location: Pasture Farm Westnewton Road Aspatria Wigton Applicant: Mr Livos Energy Recommendation: Approv al Summary/Key Issues Issue Conclusion Residential amenity The proposal is unlikely to have a significant adverse impact on residential amenity. Visual and The proposal will have some visual impacts this is mitigated by landscape impact existing and proposed hedgerows and planting and it is considered the proposals will not have a significant adverse impact on the landscape. Nature conservation The proposed biodiversity management plan will mitigate the effects of the proposed development and provide an opportunity for biodiversity enhancement. Heritage assets The proposal will not adversely impact on heritage assets. Operational The site will be linked to a substation at Aspatria. A construction requirements management plan has been submitted. Removal and The site will be decommissioned after 25 years. The restoration of restoration. the site will be the subject of a planning condition. Flood risk An acceptable flood risk assessment has been submitted and any potential impacts can be mitigated by condition. Proposal The application proposes the installation of a ground mounted photovoltaic solar farm which would comprise solar panels, fixings, electronics, equipment housing, security measures, access and ancillary development. The proposed solar panels would be mounted on aluminium frames fixed to the ground facing south and set at an angle of around 35 degrees. Taking into account variations in local topography within the site the maximum height of the panels will be 2.9m. There would be a single storey pitched roof building to accommodate a substation/ control room and number of invertor stations will be located at various locations within the site. The substation will measure 14m long, 7,7m wide and 4.5m high and the invertors will housed within metal containers approximately 8.9m long, 2.65m high and 3.15m wide. The site will be enclosed by a 2.4m high mesh security fence and there would a number of pole mounted security camera’s location around the site boundary with an overall height of 4m. A small maintenance compound would be constructed adjacent to the site entrance. Access to the site will be via the existing access road to Pasture House Farm from the B5301. The applicant has requested that reference to “circa 13MWp generation capacity” be deleted from the application description. The reason for this is that this is imprecise and the power output can only be known for certain as such time as panel availability is known. The applicant has however confirmed that whilst the power output might slightly increase or decrease, the layout, height and extent of panels and their separation from hedgerows etc. will not change. The proposed solar panels are designed to convert light into electrical current and rely on daylight rather than sunlight. The direct current (DC) generated is then converted to alternating current (AC) by invertors and the AC energy is transferred to the grid network via a substation. Site The application site is located at Pasture House Farm, Westnewton which is to the south- east of Westnewton and the north of Aspatria. The site covers 8 fields within the agricultural holding and an overall area of 32.1 Ha. The current agricultural use of the site is primarily for grazing with 2 fields used for arable use. To the south of the site is a line of pylons and existing overhead power lines. The landscape character of the site is considered further below. The applicant advises that site selection was influenced by a number of factors with the starting point being the availability of spare capacity at the electrical substation at Aspatria. A review of potential sites within 5km of the substation was then undertaken taking into account landscape, heritage and ecological designations, settlements and individual residences and other sensitive receptors. The preferred site characteristics included flat or gently sloping ground with a south or south-westerly bias to maximise the light available for solar panels. The applicant has advised that there are no available brownfield sites within the identified search area. The site has been classified as being of agricultural land quality 3b. Relevant Policies National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Building a strong, competitive economy Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change Conserving and enhancing the natural environment Conserving and enhancing the historic environment Supporting a prosperous rural economy Allerdale Local Plan (Part 1) Adopted July 2014 Policy S1 - Presumption in favour of sustainable development Policy S2 - Sustainable development principles Policy S3 - Spatial Strategy and Growth Policy S4 - Design principles Policy S14 - Rural economy, Policy S19 - Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Technologies Policy S27 - Heritage Assets Policy S29 - Flood Risk and Surface Water Drainage Policy S32 - Safeguarding amenity, Allerdale Local Plan Policy S33 - Landscape Policy S35 - Protecting and enhancing biodiversity and geodiversity, Policy DM14 - Standards of Good Design Policy DM17 - Trees, hedgerows and woodland Relevant Planning History SCR/2014/0011 EIA Screening Opinion for Solar Park – EIA Not required Representations Cumbria County Cou ncil (Highway Authority): No objection. The applicant will need to ensure that Public Footpath 205005 which runs adjacent to the site remains open and unobstructed at all times. Cumbria County Council (Countryside Access): Public Footpath 2005 follows the access road to Pasture House, as an enclosed road the footpath width is deemed to be from boundary to boundary across the entire width of the defined road. I believe this will become the south western boundary of the site and must not be altered or obstructed during or after the development. Cumbria County Council (Historic Environment Office): The information provided indicates that the ground disturbance of the proposed development will be minimal and impact on any buried archaeological remains will be negligible. Confirm no objections and do not wish to make any recommendations or comments. Cumbria County Council (Strategic Planning) “Strategic policy promotes renewable energy and looks to local planning authorities to support proposals for renewable energy developments which do not have unacceptable impacts. Climate change is recognised as a fundamental issue in planning guidance and significant weight must be given to the contribution this development would make towards the production of renewable energy. Strategic policy also seeks to ensure that the landscape and visual effects of a development are acceptable, and highlights the important of local landscape guidance in this respect. In this case application of the guidance within the Cumbria Landscape Character Guidance and Toolkit highlights concerns. On balance therefore, it is considered that the current proposal raises conflict with strategic policy. A reduction in the scale of development may serve to address these concerns”. In relation to the revised LVIA the County Council comment; “This additional information is welcome. However, no reference is made to the cumulative impact of the proposal in conjunction with the pylons and wind farm located in close proximity. The WYG landscape character conclusions are based on the view that the development will affect only a relatively small area on the landscape character type overall. Whilst this is true, the concern previously raised by the Council – that the solar farm will contribute to a generally urbanising effect upon local landscape character in conjunction with the other developments – remains. At over 32 Ha, this remains a significant development for a predominantly rural area”. Solway Coast AONB: The Solway Coast AONB has no comments to make on this application as it is outside the AONB boundary and would not intrude visually on the landscape either looking into the AONB of from it. However the tranquil nature of the landscape here would be affected by the increase in traffic during construction. Carlisle Airport: The proposed development has been examined from an aerodrome safeguarding aspect and does not conflict with safeguarding criteria. Accordingly, Carlisle Airport has no objection to this proposal. Ministry of Defence: The application relates to a site outside of MOD safeguarding areas. The MOD has no safeguarding objections to the proposal. NATS: No safeguarding objection to the proposal. Environment Agency: Submitted FRA overcomes objection to the proposed development. The measures detailed in the FRA should be implemented and secured by way of a planning condition. Natural England: The proposal in unlikely to affect any statutorily protected sites or landscapes therefore Natural England has no objection. Natural England has not assessed the applications for impact on protected species and refers LPA to standing advice. Natural England highlights that the application may provide opportunities to incorporate features into the design that are beneficial to wildlife. English Heritage: The application should be determined in accordance with national and local policy guidance and on the basis of specialist conservation advice. Electricity North West: Application could have an impact on