Land at Woodlands Farm, Stowmarket Road, Badley, Suffolk, IP24 2AH

the installation of a solar photovoltaic (‘PV’) array/solar farm with associated infrastructure

Authority: Mid Suffolk District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Woolcock J

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The main issues in this appeal are the effects of the proposed development on heritage assets, the planning balance and the application of relevant local and national policy.

What decided it

The significant weight given to the renewable energy benefits of the scheme, together with biodiversity, soil and socio-economic benefits, outweighed the less than substantial heritage harm identified.

The less than substantial harm to designated heritage assets was outweighed by the public benefits of renewable energy generation (significant weight) together with biodiversity, soil management and socio-economic benefits (moderate weight), so the planning balance fell in favour of the proposal.

Framework references: 11, 163, 168, 187, 212, 215

Plan policies cited: Policy LP25, Policy LP17, Policy LP24, Policy LP16, Policy LP19, Policy SP09, Policy SP03

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.