14/00833/FUL – Theddingworth Development of a renewable energy farm, to Abbey Renewables Solar Energy Limited include the installation of solar panels, Target Date: 12.09.2014 transformer rooms and plant, temporary access and on-site tracks, security fencing and cameras, landscaping and other associated works, at Land At Beeches Farm, Mowsley Road, Theddingworth COMMITTEE SITE VISIT Recommendation: REFUSE for the following reasons: 1. The proposal, by virtue of its size, siting and visual prominence, would appear as a dominant and visually intrusive feature in the landscape, and would detrimentally affect the character of this part of the Welland Valley landscape. The proposed development therefore fails to accord with Policies CS9 and CS17 of the Harborough District Core Strategy and paragraph 17 of the National Planning Policy Framework. 2. The proposal, by virtue of its size, location and prominence, would appear as a dominant and intrusive feature, that would detrimentally affect the significance and setting of the Theddingworth Conservation Area and the Husbands Bosworth Conservation Area, the Grade I listed Church of All Saints Church, Theddingworth and the Grade II listed Theddingworth Lodge. The proposed development therefore fails to accord with Policies CS9 and CS11 of the Harborough District Core Strategy and paragraphs 132 and 134 of the National Planning Policy Framework. 3. The applicant has failed to demonstrate that the proposal would not detrimentally affect buried archaeological remains, and the application therefore fails to comply with Core Strategy Policy CS11 and paragraphs 128, 129 and 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework. Note: The decision has been reached taking into account paragraphs 186-187 of the National Planning Policy Framework. Site / Context: The application site comprises an area of 60.55 ha, split into three fields, within attractive open countryside to the north-west of Theddingworth. The site is located in countryside between the villages of Mowsley (north), Laughton (north, both approx. 2.5km), Theddingworth (south-east, within 1km) and Husbands Bosworth (south-west, approx. 1.5km). The approx. OS grid reference for the site centre is SP 658 859. The site forms part of the Swift valley floor, the valley falling relatively sharply from a height of c.172-174m AOD north-west, plateau between the A5199, Mowsley Chase Farm, through Mowsley Hills Farm falling gently eastward, before flattening out in the area around the Grand Union Canal. The low point in the area is east of the site, at 104m AOD east/south-east on the Station Road and Harborough Road. The site itself slopes down gradually from its high point of 125m AOD at its north-west corner, eastward to 109m AOD at its north-eastern edge and south-eastward to approx. 115m AOD at its southerly extent. Its access onto the Bosworth Road rises, however, to approx. 130m AOD. The village of Theddingworth sits on a mini-ridge between two valleys, at approx. 132m AOD. The site is currently used for agricultural purposes, enclosed by hedgerows, within which are found a number of mature trees, and bounded by other arable fields. Footpath A4 follows a 1 north-south axis, stopping at the Mowsley Road approx. 275m to the north of the site, while Bridleway A1, which also generally follows a north-south axis, from Mowsley Hills Farm to Husbands Bosworth, is at approx. 590m to the west of the site. Other than being open countryside, the site is not currently covered by any particular policy designation. Residential properties Beeches Farm itself is within 100m of the site to the south-east, High View and Lark Rise (closest residential properties in Theddingworth village) are approx. 280–290m to the east, with properties at Hill View and The Bank at approx. 380–400m to the south. Dene Lodge is also situated approx. 200m to the south, Woodside Farm approx. 350m to the south and a barn conversion is situated approx. 250m to the west, while Lodge Farm is situated approx. 660m north/north-west of the site, and Mowsley Hills Farm approx. 1.6km to the north/ north-west. Ivy Lodge Farm is situated at approx. 1.2km to the north-east, and The Oaks on Gumley Road at 1.3km to the east. Heritage assets Aside from those mentioned, the site is well away from any other built form, and is outside any village boundary or defined Limits to Development. The closest national statutory designation to the site is Theddingworth medieval settlement remains (Scheduled Monument) at approx. 300m east of the, with Pinslade moated grange (Scheduled Monument) at approx. 2km to the north-west and Saddington Reservoir (Site of Special Scientific Interest) at c.4km to the north- east. The closest listed building to the application site is the Thatched Cottage in Theddingworth approx. 370m to the south-east, with the Grade I listed Church of All Saints Theddingworth at approx. 480m to the south-east, and the Grade II listed Theddingworth Lodge at 660m to the north-west. There are 4no Grade II listed bridges on the Grand Union Canal (No. 48 at c.590m, No. 51 at c.980m, No. 52 at c.1.2km and No. 53 at c.1.45km). The Grand Union Canal Conservation Area comes within 150m of the site to its west, while the site is also close to the Theddingworth Conservation Area. The Proposal: Under the amended plans, the proposal is for the use of the site as a ‘solar farm’, consisting of 111,978 solar panels and therefore having an installed capacity of around 26.9 MW of renewable energy. This is equivalent to the annual energy needs of around 8,150 typical households. (In the 2011 census there were a total of 34,900 households across the District.) The proposal is for a temporary period of 25 years. After this period the site would be decommissioned and the land returned to agriculture. The panels would be mounted on a metal frame at a maximum height of 2.1m, although the submitted Landscape and Visual Assessment (Pegasus Group, May 2014) states that the panels would rise to a max. height of 2.4m at the highest point. The panels would be orientated 25 degrees from the horizontal. The panels would be fixed structures rather than tracking structures (the latter would follow the path of the sun during the day). The panels would be fixed to the ground using piles or ‘ground screw’ that are driven into the ground at an average depth of 1 – 2m. There would be no concrete foundations. The panels would be constructed with a protective aluminium frame, with the front face of the panel made from a sheet of glass covered with a non-reflective coating, in order that the maximum amount of light is absorbed by the photovoltaic cells, improving efficiency and minimizing glare. The panels would each measure c.1m wide by 1.6 – 1.65m tall, and would be arranged in a “double portrait configuration” in rows, facing south. Each row, known as a string, would be separated by approx. 4 to 5 metres. Due to the irregular shape of the site, two sets of string arrangements are proposed. One set would hold 46 panels and of c.23 metres long, while the other would hold 24 panels and of c.12 metres length. The strings would run across the field, forming a regular pattern. 2 It is stated that the proposal intends to allow the potential for sheep grazing and chicken keeping between and underneath panels and a typical section is shown in support of this: A gap of circa 600m will be left at the bottom of the panels to allow machinery to be used to maintain the land between and around the panels. A number of ancillary works would be necessary to facilitate the use of the site including: • A 2m high security fence and deer fencing, which would be designed to allow the movement of small mammals into and out of the site • 21no invertor (steel) cabinets (2.9m height, 2.1m depth, and between 3.78 and 5.18m width) with a network of cable runs to feed electricity to the sub station Although the submitted LVA states that the inverter cabinets measure “12.2 x 2.4 x 2.9m” • 1x Customer Switch Room = 6.1m x 2.8m x 3.53m (high) on Plan PIP/TH/5 • 1x Monitoring House = 5.88m x 2.28m (footprint) x 2.79 m (high) on Plan 2.3 • 1x Auxiliary Transformer = 2.8m x 2.8m (footprint) x 2.5m (high) on Plan 2.2.2 • 1x DNO Substation = 5.1m x 4.7m (footprint) x 3.4m (high) on Plan PIP/TH/6 And: • Security fencing; Deer fencing; CCTV cameras • A network of internal roads with a gravel finish – the cable runs would follow the roads fence and therefore set back from the site boundary) • On-site access tracks for maintenance purposes • Temporary access track for delivery • An extensive landscaping scheme is proposed comprising hedging and tree planting on the boundary of the site. The hedges would be 1m high when planted in double rows and grown to 3m in height. Other points of note are as follows:- • There would be no external lighting. • The solar panels would have a dull matt blue colour • The frames would be a dark colour and the panels are designed to absorb rather than reflect light so glare would be kept to a minimum • The top soil would not be stripped • The site would be supported by a comprehensive landscaping scheme including on and off site planting (trees and hedgerows), wildflower and grass planting between the panels and a 30m buffer of grassland between the edge of the development and the panels.