Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has called for clarity over a planned 88-hectare solar farm on farmland north of Scotton.
Sustainable energy company Gridserve is proposing to build the power plant and substation at Lawrence Moor Farm.
Its plans envisage thousands of solar panels generating up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes.
However, Mr Jones has called for clarity over the plans after the proposals have yet to be finalised.
The Conservative MP was prompted to write to the company in March after residents in Scotton, Farnham and Brearton contacted him concerned about the lack of information about the proposals.
Mr Jones wrote to Gridserve, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, to ask for an update, but was told there had not been “any material update to the status of our potential development in Scotton”.
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At the end of July 2021, Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a detailed EIA would be required, but Gridserve has taken no action since.
Now, Mr Jones has called on the company to decide whether it wishes to continue with the proposal.
Andrew Jones
He said:
MP seeks answers on Scotton solar farm“People in the area need certainty on what is happening with this proposal. I want Gridserve to bring them that certainty sooner rather than later.
“All that we really know about the proposal is that it covers a massive area and will dominate the landscape.
“Surely after all this time Gridserve can decide whether it wishes to proceed and, if it does, get a formal planning application in so that its merits and otherwise can be properly debated.”
The Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough has written to an energy company to ask if it intends to go ahead with plans to build a huge solar farm on farmland north of Scotton.
Andrew Jones was prompted into action by residents in Scotton, Farnham and Brearton who contacted him concerned about the lack of any information about the proposals.
Sustainable energy company Gridserve is proposing to build the solar plant on an 88-hectare site belonging to Lawrence Moor Farm.
Its plans envisage thousands of solar panels generating up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes.
Gridserve, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, applied to Harrogate Borough Council for a scoping opinion to see if it felt a formal Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
There were objections from nearby parish councils, the Harrogate Ramblers and the Harrogate and Dales Horse Riding Association, as well as the local Green Party, which opposes such developments on agricultural land.
At the end of July 2021, Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a detailed EIA would be required, but Gridserve has taken no action since.
Mr Jones said:
“I have been in touch with the council’s planning department and no planning application has been submitted since that date. From talking to many local people, I know that residents feel very much like the threat of an application is hanging over them. No-one disputes the need for renewable energy. It is primarily the location and effect on agricultural land which is the issue.
“I have therefore written to Gridserve to ask their intentions for the land. I hope, given the local opposition, that they will be reconsidering the plans, but I will let residents know the position when I receive a response.”
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Plans submitted for South Stainley solar farm that could power 3,000 homes
Plans have been submitted to Harrogate Borough Council to build a major solar farm in South Stainley that could power 3,000 homes.
The site north of Burton Top Farm covers 19 hectares of land and is also close to the village of Wormald Green.
If approved, it would be the second solar farm in the area, following the approval of Elgin Energy’s nearby Caton Solar Farm by HBC’s planning committee in August 2021. That site is larger and can power up to 15,000 homes.
Applicants Infraland and Boultbee Brooks say the reneweable energy facility would operate at a peak capacity of 10MW a year to help the UK meet its legal target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Solar panels would be built on three grade 3 agricultural fields, which are currently used for arable farming and for pasture.
Construction would take around 12 weeks with planning permission sought for the farm to operate for 40 years.
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In a planning statement, the applicants said the farm would support HBC’s economic policies by encouraging the diversification of use for rural and agricultural areas.
The applicants set up an online consultation about the plans for residents living in South Stainley, Bishop Monkton, Burton Leanard and Markington with Wallterthwaite and sent out more than 1,000 leaflets to homes.
The web consultation garnered just nine responses, with four offering support or no objection and five against.
Caton Solar Farm
Irish renewable energy firm Elgin Energy was granted permission to build Caton Solar Farm on land the size of 70 football pitches last year. It will generate up to 48MW a year and power 15,000 homes.
The UK government sees solar as an important part of the energy mix as it attempts to reduce the country’s dependancy on foreign imports and fossil fuels.
However, applications to build solar farms on agricultural land have not always been popular with residents who might live near them.
South Stainley Parish Council is yet to issue its formal response to the Infraland and Boultree Brooks application, but last year it strongly objected to the Caton Solar Farm plans.
It said:
Fears in Scotton that gigantic solar farm will spoil picturesque village“The area would become sterilised from an agricultural, environmental and recreational point of view.”
Residents in Scotton are mobilising against plans to build a solar farm the size of 150 football pitches that they believe will spoil their picturesque village.
UK energy firm Gridserve is behind a proposal to build the solar farm on fields belonging to Lawrence Moor Farm.
Thousands of solar panels would generate up to 49.9 megawatts of green energy that could power up to 14,000 homes.
The village on the outskirts of Knaresborough has a population of around 600 people.
Scotton resident Richard Tallis, who has lived in the village for 12 years, has distributed leaflets to villagers and said 165 people have responded to say they are opposed to the plans.
Two public footpaths would be surrounded by solar panels if they were passed.
Mr Tallis said:
“We’re not against solar farms, just put them in the right places.
“Agricultural land should be used for agricultural purposes.
“There’s a strength of opinion around the village opposing it.”
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The main site where Gridserve wants to put the solar panels is bound by the narrow country roads Low Moor Lane and High Moor Lane. It is also opposite the village primary school.
Mr Tallis said he fears the roads are ill-equipped to cope with eight months of construction traffic whilst the site is built.
He said he is not a “NIMBY” but feels that solar farms should be built on the edge of motorways and away from residential areas.
“I accept there will always be people that criticise us for opposing it.
“But there are other sites that are more suitable, not on the edge of a picturesque green village.”
Net-zero
This morning the UK government published its flagship energy strategy. It wants the country to produce most of the energy it uses through renewables.
It says the UK will increase current solar capacity by five times before 2035.
A spokesperson for Gridserve said:
Residents submit complaint over South Stainley solar farm decision“Matters of proximity, visual impact and access throughout the construction and operation of the Scotton solar farm will be integral parts of the forthcoming planning and design process.
“We hope we are able to proceed with the next design phases in an open, collaborative approach that involves members of the local community and other statutory and non-statutory stakeholders”
Residents in South Stainley have submitted a formal complaint to Harrogate Borough Council over a decision to approve a solar farm in the village.
The proposal, submitted by Elgin Energy EsCo Limited, was approved in August and would see a farm of the equivalent size of 150 football pitches built.
The developer said in its documents that the farm could generate 50 megawatts of electricity during peak operation and potentially power 15,000 homes in Harrogate.
However, residents in the parish have complained to the council over how the application was handled at planning committee.
Following a meeting of the South Stainley with Clayton parish, Jane Pickering, who chaired the meeting, wrote to the borough council.
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She raised concern that the committee never took a site visit, held the meeting at short notice and that the views of residents were “ignored and not taken into account”.
In the letter, Ms Pickering said:
“Solar green energy schemes require a balanced planning view. Due to the sheer scale of the proposals and the landscape and visual impacts involved, time should have been given to hear both sides of the argument, and to carefully analyse the negative environmental impacts.
“The parish is not convinced that a balanced and accurate view was presented to the committee and that a decision was made with a lack of understanding of the issues and the local impact of such a huge scheme.”
South Stainley had previously submitted objections to the council over loss of green fields and agricultural land.
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesperson said:
“The planning application (19/02259/EIAMAJ) was determined in accordance with national and local planning policy and procedure.”
Second solar farm planned
The complaint from residents comes as a second solar farm is planned for South Stainley.
Infraland Ltd and Boultbee Brooks Renewable Energy Ltd have unveiled plans for a farm on 19 hectares of land between South Stainley and Wormald Green.
The proposals would see photovoltaic panels laid out in rows running east to west on the site. The plan has yet to be submitted to Harrogate Borough Council.