Huge solar farm plan rejected amid fears parish was being 'dumped on'

RESIDENTS of one of the most deprived areas of Cornwall told a council meeting that they feel dumped on again, with the prospect of a 150-acre solar farm and battery storage system being built in their midst.

- by LEE TREWHELA Local Democracy Reporter

People living in and around St Dennis say they are fed up with the industrialisation of land in the area, which is already home to other solar farms and a “divisive” incinerator otherwise known as the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre.

Trerice Solar Farm Limited an offshoot of Norwegian-owned Stat-kraft applied to Cornwall Council to build a 32MW solar farm and 45MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on two parcels of land, including 18 fields, adjacent to Trerice Manor Farm in St Dennis.

The proposal would have resulted in the 40-year loss of 76 acres of Grade 3a agricultural land - the best and most versatile farming land - while the solar farm was operational.

The council's planning department recommended approval of the proposal, stating that the public benefits associated with the renewable energy scheme were substantial and outweighed the level of harm identified to the landscape and the temporary loss of agricultural land.

The matter came before a strategic planning committee meeting last Thursday due to concerns raised by local member Councillor Dick Cole.