Land at Knapthorpe Lodge, Hockerton Road, Caunton, NG23 6BA

Construction of a solar farm, access and all associated works, equipment and necessary infrastructure. This

Authority: Newark & Sherwood District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Kean G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land
character and appearance including local landscape character
whether the environmental and economic benefits of the proposal outweigh any harm identified

What decided it

The substantial weight attached to the renewable energy benefits of the scheme, combined with significant biodiversity net gain, outweighed the limited and temporary harms to agricultural land and landscape character.

the benefits of the proposed development outweigh the temporary harm identified through reduction in agricultural productivity, small loss of BMV land and adverse effects on landscape character and visual appearance

Plan policies cited: ACS Core Policy 10, DPD Policy DM4, ACS Policy CP10, DPD Policy DM8, Spatial Policy 7, ACS Core Policy 9

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

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.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.