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Dismissed21 March 20243325112

Birchall Green Farm, Stinton Green, Hallow, Worcestershire , WR2 6NT

Planning appeal 3325112 at Birchall Green Farm, Stinton Green, Hallow, Worcestershire , WR2 6NT (Malvern Hills District Council) was dismissed on 21 March 2024 by Inspector Bristow T, following a hearing. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The main issue is the effect of the development proposed on landscape character and historic significance.

described on the application form as ‘development of a solar farm with ancillary infrastructure, security fence, access, landscaping and continued agriculture, to generate power to feed into the local distribution network

Authority
Malvern Hills District Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Hearing
Development
utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Bristow T
Postcode
WR2 6NT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • The main issue is the effect of the development proposed on landscape character and historic significance.

What decided it

The major adverse harm to landscape character and visual amenity, combined with inadequately justified site selection and unresolved ecological uncertainty, outweighed the benefits of renewable energy generation and economic gain.

The substantial national need for renewable energy and associated economic benefits did not outweigh the major adverse landscape and visual harm, the less than substantial heritage harm, the limited adverse effect on best and most versatile agricultural land, and unresolved ecological concerns, so the appeal was dismissed.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
SWDP1SWDP2SWDP5SWDP6SWDP13SWDP21SWDP24SWDP25SWDP27
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 225Paragraph 157Paragraph 180Paragraph 135Paragraph 163Paragraph 205Paragraph 206
Judgments
Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd. v Secretary of State for the Environment and Harborough District Council [1982] JPL 37; Holborn Studios Ltd. v The London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823; Bramley Solar Farm Residents Group v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing And Communities & Ors [2023] EWHC 2842 (Admin) (15 November 2023); Peak District and South Yorkshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Transport [2023] EWHC 2917 (Admin) (17 November 2023)

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

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The decision letter

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More decisions in Malvern Hills

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2024

  1. Dismissed27 October 20266013516
    Frenchlands Lane, Lower Broadheath, Worcester, WR2 6QU
  2. Dismissed22 October 20266002119
    Land at (Os 7897 6938), Dunley, DY13 0TX
  3. Allowed13 October 20266014393
    The Laurels, Kerswell Green, Worcester, WR5 3PE
  4. Dismissed9 October 20266006301
    Land off Lightwood Lane, Lower Broadheath, Worcester, WR2 6RL
  5. Dismissed8 October 20266007831
    Vaughan Lodge, 192-198 Wells Road, Malvern, WR14 4HB

The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.