®Planning appeal decision
Agricultural land to the south of Murton and north of South Hetton, SR7 9SF
the installation and operation of a ground mounted photovoltaic solar farm, inclusive of solar arrays, transformers, substation, landscaping, fencing, internal access tracks, access, CCTV and other associated works, for the purpose of generating and exporting renewable energy to the electricity grid network
- Authority
- Durham County Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Brooker M
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The main issues are the landscape and visual effects of the scheme and whether there are other material considerations that would outweigh those effect.
What decided it
The significant contribution to renewable energy generation and Net Zero targets, together with considerable biodiversity net gains, clearly and decisively outweighed the localised landscape and visual harm.
The imperative to tackle climate change and the very significant benefits of renewable energy generation and biodiversity net gain clearly and decisively outweighed the significant but localised landscape and visual harm identified.
Framework references: 174, 56
Plan policies cited: Policy 10, Policy 33, Policy 39
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.