'Applause' as green belt solar farm refused

Plans for a temporary solar farm on green belt land have been refused.

The proposals, for Usworth House Farm near Springwell village, on the outskirts of Sunderland and the urban edge of Gateshead, had drawn more than 400 objections.

Concerns raised at a planning meeting included noise and impacts on heritage and agricultural land.

Sunderland City Council planners had recommended the plans for approval, but councillors voted unanimously to reject the solar farm.

The decision was met with applause from campaigners at the meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Applicant Boom Power Ltd wanted to build 59,319 solar PV panels, estimated to generate renewable energy for more than 11,000 homes a year.

The proposed lifespan for the farm was 40 years, after which it would have been decommissioned and brought back to its original state.

But during a council planning meeting, objectors raised concerns including "intolerable noise" from the "industrial scale" development, long-term impacts on agricultural land and food production, as well as heritage impacts on Scheduled Ancient Monument the Bowes Railway.

A representative for Boom Power Ltd, speaking at the planning meeting, acknowledged the proposed development was in a "sensitive location" and that local people had raised "many valid concerns".

However, they maintained the solar farm was a "good land use" and would not result in the permanent loss of farmland.

Councillor James Warne, independent member for Washington West, noted wider climate issues and the future "acceleration" of solar farms, wind power and offshore wind.

"I think it's vital to the very existence of the human race that we proceed with these developments," he added.

The farm had also received 32 representations in support, saying the plan was "much better than housing".

Labour councillor Martyn Herron acknowledged the need to "look at energy security and to reduce our dependence on energy from overseas" but added, "we can't just allow any development anywhere".

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