Land adjacent to Sotby Woods , Sturton Road, Hatton, Lincolnshire , LN95NX

the installation of a temporary ground mounted 49.9MW solar farm with associated infrastructure, construction of vehicular accesses, CCTV cameras on 2.5m high poles, a 15m high communications tower and security fencing to a maximum height of 2.2m

Authority: East Lindsey District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Baird G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect on heritage assets
the landscape and visual impact of the proposal

What decided it

The very substantial weight attached to the renewable energy, net zero and energy security benefits of the scheme decisively outweighed the less than substantial heritage harm and moderate landscape/visual harm.

The very substantial weight given to renewable energy/climate change benefits, together with significant weight to biodiversity net gain and moderate weight to economic benefits, clearly and decisively outweighed the time-limited less than substantial harm to the listed Sturton Corner Farmhouse and the moderate landscape/visual harm.

Framework references: 202, 212, 215, 187, 168, 161

Plan policies cited: LP Policy SP11, LP SP10, LP Policy SP 23, LP SP27, LP Policy SP24

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.