Controversial plans for solar farm near Sandy rejected
After four years a controversial application for a solar farm near Moggerhanger has been refused by Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC).
A plan was submitted by KACH Capital Estates in 2022 for the installation of a Solar Farm (up to 7MW) with battery storage and associated works on land north of the A603 in Sandy.
It was recommended for approval by council officers – but turned down at a meeting of the Development Management Committee (August 26) due to concerns about its impact on Sandy Airfield and the impact of its fencing on the landscape.
Councillor Hayley Whitaker said: "I think it [the fence] is substantial in that there is just nothing of that size within that landscape at all.
"If there was something else that was two and a half/three metres high in that area, that was a solid block, I would be saying to you, do you know what, it won't look great, but we won't see it in five or six years… but I think this is going to stick out like a sore thumb because there is nothing else around it."
It was also noted that the application site was located within the Greensand Ridge Nature Improvement Area – and that this had not been expressly referenced in the officer's report in error.
Meanwhile, the application had been recommended despite a number of objections, including from Moggerhanger Parish Council and The Gardens Trust.
There were also objections from Sandy Airfield Ltd and Bedford Microlight Ltd, and the Civil Aviation Authority’s Airfield Advisory Team – primarily on aviation safety grounds.
A report to the meeting stated: "Concerns regarding glint and glare, particularly in relation to Sandy Airfield, have been carefully considered.
"The submitted evidence, supported by an independent aviation review, demonstrates that any effects would be limited and infrequent and not result in a significant aviation safety impact."
But during the meeting, Councillor Tracey Wye said: "For me the airport stuff has got such a big question mark over it. I know we've had these expert reports, but within it, the people who have provided it have also advised slight caution on the modelling..."
Cllr David Bligh commented: "I think it was you yourself, Tracey, who said that if someone came out of the sky or crash-landed… then that's pretty substantial."
Cllr Wye added: "I don't think that anyone in this room feels completely confident to go; ‘it's going to be alright, it's going to be fine’."
Cllr Alison Cross also spoke on behalf of Moggerhanger Parish Council to raise three concerns: the threat to the "unprecedented view from Hazel's Farm...directly to Moggerhanger Park", the need for "A grade" arable land to be spared from development, and the impact of the development on traffic along the A603.
In the end, the application was refused for two reasons: its "inappropriate location and subsequent impact on the existing business, based on National Planning Policy Framework 4" and "the impact on the character and landscaping character, as a result of the proposed opaque fencing, which would be based on policies EE5 and EE8 of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan".