Planning appeal decision
Fairfields Farm, Rosliston Road, Walton-On-Trent, Swadlincote, DE12 8LR
Planning appeal 3369340 at Fairfields Farm, Rosliston Road, Walton-On-Trent, Swadlincote, DE12 8LR (South Derbyshire District Council) was allowed on 15 December 2025 by Inspector Love D, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The effect of the proposed development on Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (BMVAL).
Installation and operation of a 1.025 GW Energy Storage System (ESS), including energy storage units, substation, site access, cable connection, landscaping and ancillary infrastructure
- Authority
- South Derbyshire District Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Love D
- Postcode
- DE12 8LR
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (BMVAL)
What decided it
The Inspector concluded that the proposal would not involve the undue and permanent loss of a significant amount of BMVAL, and the substantial public benefits of the energy storage scheme in supporting grid balancing and net zero emissions outweighed the less-than-substantial heritage harm.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy BNE4Policy SD6Policy BNE5
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 57Paragraph 161Paragraph 168Paragraph 187Paragraph 188Paragraph 196
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 appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
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What an account adds to this decision


More decisions in South Derbyshire
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025
- Allowed23 September 20266011093Land Adjacent to 7 & 8 Slade Close, Etwall, DE65 6JH
- Notice varied and upheld3 September 20263378427Land to the South of Woodville Road, Swadlincote, DE12 6LY
- Allowed6 January 20263368728Land South of Kings Newton Lane, Melbourne, Derbyshire, DE73 8DD
- Allowed28 November 20253370609Land to the North of Main Street, Walton Upon Trent , DE15 9TY
- Allowed25 November 20253370189Eastfields Farm, Church Street, Netherseal, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE12 8DF
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.
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