Solar panel farm at Bentham allowed by government planning inspector

Craven councillors twice refused plans by Tau Solar to site the district's first solar panel farm – producing up to 5MW of electricity – on 'moderate' grade farmland to the south of Ravens Close Brow in Low Bentham.

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The application was also strongly opposed by Bentham Town Council, which claimed the planned 20,000 panels would cover a piece of land equal to 120 football pitches, and would be seen from parts of the Trough of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

But Government planning inspector Tom Cannon sided with Tau Solar and approved the siting of the panels and associated infrastructure – including deer-proof fencing and CCTV cameras – for up to 30 years.

Frames and supports of the panels will, however, have to be finished in black, to minimise impact, and the land returned to full agricultural use after a maximum of 30 years.

Mr Cannon disagreed with objectors and concluded there would be "limited harm" to the landscape of the area, the visual amenity of users of a nearby right of way and motorists in Ravens Close Brow.

He also pointed out there was strong support for renewable energy developments in national planning policy and that the solar panel farm was capable of producing enough energy to supply 1,375 homes.

Mr Cannon did, however, call for a plan to be submitted and approved, outlining boundary treatment "in the interests of visual amenity and ecology". He further called for a condition requiring the protection of existing trees and hedgerows during construction work, and for details of all ancillary structures and CCTV cameras be submitted to the council.

Craven's planning committee, acting against officer advice, refused permission for the farm in June 2015 and again in the following October, when Tau Solar returned with a slightly amended plan.

Councillors commented it was an "horrendous" use of agricultural land and said the panels would turn the area into an "industrial estate".