Solar farm plan refused over 'landscape' concerns
Getty ImagesPlans for a large-scale solar farm in the countryside have been refused over concerns about noise and the impact on the landscape.
Hare Hill Solar's proposal for the site in Haswell Plough was voted down by Durham County Council's planning committee after a debate.
The developer hoped to operate the 154-acre (62.7 hectare) site at Harehill Farm alongside a battery storage system, but faced opposition from residents.
Durham County Council's planning department had originally backed the development to provide clean energy to 17,600 homes, but the committee voted to knock back the plans.
Resident Janice Ferguson said her family would become "prisoners in our own home" if the solar farm went ahead.
"In every direction we will be surrounded by wire fencing, security lighting and CCTV cameras," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"We will have to endure at least a year of dust and drilling while 90,000 panels are piledriven into the ground all around us."
Residents' concerns
Ms Ferguson was joined by 24 other objectors, including local MP Grahame Morris who opposed the proposal due to noise issues and the impact on the landscape.
Morris said: "The thought of residents being surrounded by rows of solar panels is understandably distressing."
Kenneth Morton, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the application had been altered following local feedback and concerns.
He told a council meeting: "This scheme has planning officers' recommendation for approval, it seeks to minimise local impacts, enables the survival of two local businesses, supports jobs and supports biodiversity."
Also supporting the plan, Councillor Mark Wilkes said there would be "no impact on farmland, which in any shape or form can be considered to be negative".
However, a majority of committee members sided with the campaigners' concerns.
Councillor Alan Bell said: "It's immense, it's enormous.
"The landscape harm is not going to be overcome."