®Planning appeal decision
Land North Of Little Cheveney Farm, Sheephurst Lane, Marden, Kent, TN12 9SD
the installation of a renewable energy led generating station comprising of ground-mounted solar arrays, associated electricity generation infrastructure and other ancillary equipment comprising of storage containers, access tracks, fencing, gates and CCTV together with the creation of woodland and biodiversity enhancements
- Authority
- Maidstone Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Major P
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The impact of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
- The impact of the proposal on the setting of nearby heritage assets
- Whether it has been demonstrated that the development is appropriately sited given the presence of best and most versatile agricultural land (BMV)
- Whether, in light of the above issues, and the other matters identified below, the planning balance falls in favour of, or against, planning permission being granted
What decided it
The substantial weight attributable to the provision of renewable energy alone was sufficient to outweigh the limited landscape harm and other adverse impacts identified.
the substantial weight given to renewable energy provision, together with significant weight for biodiversity net gain and moderate weight for economic benefits, outweighed the moderate landscape harm, no heritage harm, and the limited-weight temporary loss of BMV land
Plan policies cited: Policy SP17, Policy SP18, Policy DM1, Policy DM3, Policy DM4, Policy DM24, Policy DM30, Policy LPRINF3
Judgments cited: Bramley Solar Farm v SOS for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
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.