DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATION COMMITTEE 17th November 2014 A Report by the Assistant Director – Environment and Regulatory Services _____________________________________________________________________ District Allerdale Borough Council Application No 2/2014/0636 Applicant Green Switch Developments Ltd _____________________________________________________________________ PROPOSAL: Installation of Solar Park With an Output of Approximately 14.63MW LOCATION: Land East of Wharrels Hill Wind Farm Adjacent A591, Bothel, Wigton (NY1838) 1. RECOMMENDATION 1.1 That an objection is raised on grounds of landscape and visual impact. It is considered that benefits in terms of renewable energy production are outweighed by the adverse landscape and visual impacts of the current proposal, in conflict with strategic planning policy. 2. THE PROPOSAL 2.1 This application seeks permission for the development of a solar farm with a capacity of 14.63MW, and associated infrastructure. The total site area is 29.7Ha. 2.2 The solar farm would comprise 58,500 solar modules arranged on an east-west alignment. The surface of each panel would be constructed from toughened glass, beneath which would lie a non-reflective layer, electrical connections, silicon and a backing layer, all of which would be set in an aluminium frame. The frames would be secured into position via piles driven into the ground, with a front height of approximately 800mm and back panel height of approximately 2333mm, which would result in a tilt angle of approximately 25 degrees. There would also be a separation of 3-4m between each row, to ensure that the panels would not be overshadowed. The site would be surrounded by a 2.4m high security fence. 2.3 The site would be connected to the local electricity distribution network. This is subject to a separate consenting procedure, and is therefore not under consideration as part of this application. 2.3 The site is in agricultural use. The applicant states that the solar array would provide an opportunity to create an area of species rich grassland which would have a higher net biodiversity value than the current site use. Grass would be allowed to grow on the site, and a wild flower seed mix would also be sown around the field margins. Livestock will be encouraged to graze within the site as a grassland maintenance measure for areas in between each row of panels. 2.2 The site lies approximately 250m to the south of Bothel at its closest point. It is bounded to the north by the A595, and to the east by the A591. The boundary of the Lake District National Park lies approximately 900m to the south, at its closest point. The Wharrels Hill wind farm lies immediately to the south west of the site. 3 REPRESENTATIONS 3.1 Local County Council members were consulted on this application. Councillor Duncan Fairbairn (Thursby) submitted comments, for inclusion in this report, to be noted by Allerdale Borough Council. These comments are included in full in Appendix 1. 4 STRATEGIC ISSUES 4.1 The application has been assessed in regard to strategic planning policy. The strategic policy base used to assess this application comprises the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG), and the Cumbria Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy (Sub-RSS). The Sub- Regional Spatial Strategy carries material weight as the spatial planning framework for Cumbria’s Community Strategy. 4.2 The NPPF includes a number of core planning principles of relevance to this proposal. These include the need to: secure high quality design and a good standard of amenity for all existing and future occupants of land and buildings; support the transition to a low carbon future - encouraging the use of renewable resources; take into account the roles and character of different areas; and recognise the intrinsic beauty of the countryside and the importance of supporting thriving rural communities within it. 4.3 Paragraphs 97 and 98 of the NPPF give specific guidance on renewable energy. The NPPF states that local planning authorities should recognise the responsibility on all communities to contribute to energy generation from such sources. Authorities are encouraged to have a positive strategy to promote energy from renewable and low carbon sources; design their policies to maximise renewable and low carbon energy development while ensuring that adverse impacts are addressed satisfactorily, including cumulative landscape and visual impacts; and consider identifying suitable areas for renewable and low carbon energy sources where this would help secure the development of such sources. 4.4 The NPPF states that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should not require applicants for energy development to demonstrate the overall need for renewable or low carbon energy, and approve the application if its impacts are (or can be made) acceptable. 4.5 Paragraph 109 outlines guidance in regard to conserving and enhancing the natural environment, which includes the need for the planning system to contribute to the protection and enhancement of valued landscapes. 4.6 National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) has been published in regard to the development of renewable energy. The guidance states that ‘The National Planning Policy Framework explains that all communities have a responsibility to help increase the use and supply of green energy, but this does not mean that the need for renewable energy automatically overrides environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities’. 4.7 The guidance states that landscape character areas could form the basis for considering the location and scale of renewable energy developments, with local level assessments highlighted as an appropriate scale for assessing the likely landscape and visual impacts of individual proposals 4.8 The guidance goes on to state, specifically in regard to large scale solar farms, that such developments can have a negative impact on the rural environment, particularly in undulating landscapes. However, the visual impact of a well- planned and well-screened solar farm can be properly addressed within the landscape if planned sensitively. 4.8 Section 5 of the Cumbria Sub-RSS outlines guidance on the delivery of the Strategy. Paragraph 5.2 states that: The key to delivering a sustainable Cumbria is to ensure that through detailed consideration of the impacts, the benefits of development clearly outweigh the disbenefits and any potential negative effects are mitigated or have little or no impact. Developments will be reviewed in the context of their contribution to climate change. 4.9 Paragraph 5.3 outlines a set of development principles, which include: the need to avoid the loss of or damage to distinctive natural and cultural conservation features, (including landscapes and visually important public and private open space); secure high standards in design and construction, (including siting, scale, use of materials and landscaping which respect and where possible enhance the distinctive character of the townscape and landscape); ensure development is within infrastructure, community and service constraints; and minimise levels of light pollution and noise. Landscape & Visual Effects 4.10 The site lies within Landscape Character Type 12b ‘Rolling Fringe’ as defined by the Cumbria Landscape Character Guidance & Toolkit (CLCGT). The CLCGT notes that ‘In the north it forms the fringe of the northern Lake District fells. It mainly comprises large scale, rolling or undulating topography at altitudes of 150-300m AOD… Land cover consists of large, often rectangular fields of improved pasture, divided by stone walls, fences or occasional hedges… Tree cover is generally sparse apart from extensive, but isolated coniferous plantations in the north and occasional woodland clumps in lower areas and on knolls’. The CLCGT goes on to note that ‘the landscape has a pastoral feel with some tranquillity and a sense of peacefulness…’ and that ‘Open interrupted views across moorland to a backdrop of hills are sensitive to large prominent infrastructure or other development’. The CLCGT Vision for the area seeks (inter alia) to soften the hard edges of conifer plantations to reflect the topography, and strengthen field boundaries while retaining the open and unfenced character of the landscape. The CLCGT notes that ‘These transitional landscapes are traditionally fragile in nature and new development may further exaggerate this trend eroding distinctive characteristics.’ 4.11 As noted in section 2 above, the site lies in close proximity to the Lake District National Park. The area covered by 12b is inherently linked to the Park. The CLCGT recognises this linkage, noting that type 12b continues into the Park, and is classified as Type I ‘Upland Limestone Farmland’ in the Lake District National Park Character Assessment. (LDNPCA). Type I thus extends beyond the Park boundary, covering the area classified as 12b in the CLCGT. This includes the proposed site area. Type I is subdivided into ‘Areas of Distinctive Character’. Area of Distinctive Character 1 ‘Blindcrake’ covers the site in question. 4.12 The LDNPCA highlights ‘Gently rolling upland pastoral farmland, of a high open nature, divided by a network of low hedgerows and well maintained limestone walls which follow the rising and falling topography… The predominant characteristic of this area is its high, open nature, with patchworks of muted and harmonious pasture fields… the nature of the underlying topography