PLANS to extend the longevity of a 109-acre solar farm at Pancrasweek, near Holsworthy, have been approved by Torridge District Council, despite objections from a local organisation instrumental to protecting its countryside.

(Campaign to Protect Rural England), an organisation instrumental in the protection of its rural areas, previously objected to plans for an extension of time of Pitworthy Solar Farm, Pancrasweek, which were recently approved by Torridge District Council’s planning officer.

The solar farm in question is a 109-acre establishment, with a previously set time of 25 years, a ‘temporary’ basis, when it first began generating energy in 2014. However, the agent for the application, Foresight Group, which is based in London, and the applicant, Pitworthy Solar Limited, was striving to extend this time to 40 years, stretching from the year 2039 to 2054.

Following Torridge District Council’s decision to go ahead with these plans, CPRE Devon has shown strong opposition to the idea.

CPRE Devon’s secretary, Penny Mills, who recently spoke on BBC Radio Devon about the ‘temporary’ solar farm’s time extension, is sure the application would have never been passed by the council’s planning committee, had it been known that the solar farm would have been anything but temporary.

She told the Post: “They called the farm ‘temporary’ when it was said it would be going for 25 years. Forty years is not temporary — how can they call it temporary?”

Christopher Darwin, who lives at Scotland Farm, which is half a mile away and positioned opposite the site, has also raised concerns about the solar farm’s life extension.

Mr Darwin said that the company has a responsibility to consider the surrounding countryside — another big issue within the ongoing argument. He added: “It is 109 acres and over the other side of the valley, about half a mile away from us.

“Regarding the extension, it is going to be going for 40 years. It’s here whether we like it or not.”

In CPRE Devon’s objection, it said that the solar farm has a strong likeliness to a ‘sea of grey’, adding that it can be seen from the A3072 and has a ‘large, adverse impact on the visual amenity of properties in Bridgerule, Pancrasweek and in particular on Scotland Farm’.

Ms Mills said: “CPRE Devon feel this is a very significant application and decision because we fear that a precedent will now be set. The point is that for wind turbines and solar farms, planning permission is typically granted for a temporary period of 20 or 25 years. Planning inspectors say that 25 years ‘represents a considerable proportion of the human lifespan’ and thus often grant planning permission on the basis that 25 years may be considered to be temporary.

“According to dictionaries, temporary is ‘lasting for only a limited period of time; not permanent’ or ‘not lasting or needed for very long’. In planning law, planning permission may be granted for a temporary or limited period, after which time the development has to be removed, and this is what had been permitted at Pitworthy Farm, where in 2013 this massive solar farm near Holsworthy, covering 109 acres of farmland, was granted planning permission for 25 years on the basis that this was a temporary period and people would live to see the green fields again.

“However, within three years of the start of operation, the owner of the solar farm applied to extend its life to 40 years, a period which is not so temporary.”

Ms Mills believes this farm has drastically effected the overall look of the area, deeming the numerous solar panels and equipment a ‘sea of grey/blue’.

Ms Mills and the team from CPRE Devon fear that the granted planning permission to extend the life of the solar farm will now stamp an unwanted mark on the countryside for generations. She said: “The original reason for granting planning permission was that the countryside and landscape would only be blighted for a temporary period by the industrial development and people would live to see the return of the green and pleasant land. We fear with this decision, that precedents are being set and the countryside is increasingly under threat of being blighted for generations, so that soon there will be few people alive who can remember how beautiful the south west countryside used to look.”

Ricardo Pineiro, partner at Foresight Group, told the Post: “We are sorry to hear that some members of the local community remain unhappy about the time extension to the planning consent at Pitworthy Solar Farm.

“At Foresight, we have been careful to work closely with landlords and the local community to ensure our solar farms minimise local impact, and where improvements can be made to our solar farms, we work with local authorities to minimise the impact of the sites we own and operate. We also regularly inspect our sites to ensure that landscaping and other improvements are well maintained and undertake additional works where deemed necessary.

“Many of our solar farms, such as that at Pitworthy, are designed to enable sheep grazing to ensure that the land remains in agricultural use, as well as providing renewable energy, and the landowner continues to graze sheep on the solar farm.”

Ms Mills described the farm as a ‘blight on the countryside’, adding: “A blight on the countryside, which will now be there for much longer than originally anticipated.”