Land west of Newton Lane, Newton Solney, DE15 0RU

installation and operation of a renewable energy generation station comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic panels, inverter/transformer units, DNO substation, site access, internal access tracks, security measures, landscaping, and other ancillary infrastructure

Authority: South Derbyshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Thompson P

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the landscape character and visual amenity of the countryside
The use of best and most versatile agricultural land (BMVAL)

What decided it

The significantly detrimental and intrinsically harmful effect on landscape character and visual amenity, particularly the prominent visibility from Public Right of Way SD33/6/1 over a considerable forty-year period, was not outweighed by the scheme's environmental and energy benefits.

Framework references: 11, 168, 188

Plan policies cited: Policy BNE4, Policy SD6, Policy BNE2, Policy BNE12

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.