Land at Moat Farm, Newent, GL181JG

a ground mounted photovoltaic solar farm with an electrical generating capacity of up to 49.9MW together with associated equipment, infrastructure and ancillary works

Authority: Forest of Dean District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Plenty B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the landscape character and the visual effects of the proposal, taking into consideration cumulative effects
The effect of the proposal on local road users, walkers and residential occupiers from glint and glare

What decided it

The substantial and significant weight given to the renewable energy, climate change and biodiversity benefits of the scheme, together with its viable grid connection, outweighed the moderate landscape/visual harm and the less than substantial heritage harm identified.

the substantial benefits of renewable energy delivery, biodiversity net gain, economic benefits and a viable grid connection outweighed the moderate harm to landscape character and visual amenity and the less than substantial harm to heritage assets

Framework references: 212, 187

Plan policies cited: Policy CSP.1, Policy CSP.4, Policy AP1, Policy AP2, Policy AP4, Policy AP5, Policy AP7

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.