BABERGH VOTE UNANIMOUSLY TO REFUSE GROVE FARM SOLAR FARM
Babergh District Council met on Wednesday 5th February to decide on the Solar Farm application. It was refused on Heritage and Landscape grounds.
Bentley's Neighbourhood Plan policies were instrumental in the decision making and Bentley community was praised on the quality of its Neighbourhood Plan.
Here is an extract from the decision notice -
Babergh District Council as Local Planning Authority, hereby give notice that PLANNING PERMISSION HAS BEEN REFUSED for the development proposed in the application for the following reasons:
1. HERITAGE The proposal would conflict with policies SP09, LP19, LP25 and consequently SP03 of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan (2023), policies BEN 11 and BEN 12 of the Bentley Neighbourhood Plan (2022) and paragraphs 212, 213, 215 and 216 of the NPPF (2024). The proposal would result in a low to medium level of less than substantial harm to a number of designated and non-designated heritage assets; the most notable and highly graded of which include the Grade I listed Bentley Hall Barn and Grade II* listed Bentley Hall, Bentley Hall Stables and Church of St Mary. Whilst significant weight is afforded to the public benefits of renewable clean energy, this benefit is not considered sufficient to outweigh the harm to a range of heritage assets, which are matters of considerable importance and great weight. The setting of these assets and thus their significance would be eroded and undermined by the proposed development as it would introduce an industrial incongruous character to the current traditional agricultural character and historical landscape of the area.
2. LANDSCAPE The proposal would conflict with policies SP09, LP17, LP18, LP25 and consequently SP03 of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan (2023), policies BEN 3 and BEN 7 of the Bentley Neighbourhood Plan (2022) and paragraphs 187 and 189 of the NPPF (2024). The development would introduce an incongruous, industrialised character into a valued landscape, being within the setting and Additional Project Area of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Landscape. The development would erode a well preserved and largely unaltered agricultural area and would infill a tranquil transitional gap between settlement and a valuable historical landscape with an abrupt, alien and jarring form of development.
The applicant has the right to appeal this decision.