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Allowed11 June 20253354032

New Hall Farm, New Hall Lane, Overton, Wakefield, WF4 4RP

Planning appeal 3354032 at New Hall Farm, New Hall Lane, Overton, Wakefield, WF4 4RP (Wakefield Metropolitan District Council) was allowed on 11 June 2025 by Inspector Partington A, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposal on, and the potential loss of, agricultural land.

the installation of a renewable energy generating station comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays together with substation, transformer stations, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure and landscaping and biodiversity enhancements

Authority
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Inquiry
Development
utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Partington A
Postcode
WF4 4RP

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • The effect of the proposal on, and the potential loss of, agricultural land
  • The effect of the proposal on landscape character
  • The visual effect of the proposal on nearby residents, users of the public rights of way network and road users
  • The effect of the proposal on the setting of nearby heritage assets

What decided it

The substantial weight given to the proposal's contribution to renewable energy generation, climate change mitigation and energy security outweighed the identified landscape, visual and heritage harms.

The substantial benefit of renewable energy generation, together with significant biodiversity net gain and moderate economic benefits, outweighed the moderate landscape and visual harm and the less than substantial harm to the setting of the Scheduled Monument, justifying allowing the appeal other than in accordance with the development plan.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy LP70Policy SP23Policy LP55Policy LP56Policy LP59Policy LP63Policy LP64Policy LP27Policy LP52Policy LP54Policy LP57Policy LP66Policy LP67Policy LP69Policy LP29Policy LP30
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 153Paragraph 155Paragraph 187Paragraph 188Paragraph 212Paragraph 215Paragraph 57
Judgments
Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (Admin); Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, R (on the application of) v Epping Forest District Council & Anor (Rev 1) [2016] EWCA Civ 404; Lullington Solar Park Limited v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and South Derbyshire District Council [2024] EWHC 295 (Admin); Bramley Solar Farm Residents Group v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Bramley Solar Limited and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council [2023] EWHC 2842 (Admin)

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.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

  1. Allowed14 September 20266006811
    Hall Croft House, Castleford Road, Normanton, WF6 2DN
  2. Notice varied and upheld24 August 20263361281
    Wragby Grange, Doncaster Road, Wragby, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 1QX
  3. Allowed10 July 20266006858
    Land at, Pontefract Road, Pontefract, WF11 8RJ
  4. Allowed2 July 20263368025
    Land South of Wakefield B Substation, And East of Neil Fox Way, Wakefield, WF1 5DB
  5. Dismissed30 June 20266005423
    Land off Lee Moor Lane, Stanley, Wakefield, WF3 4EU

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.