After what feels like a very long period of deliberation the Planning Inspectorate have dismissed Inazin Solar's appeal against the decision of Teignbridge District Council to refuse planning permission for the Fulford Solar Park at Gold's Cross Hill near Tedburn St. Mary for a second time. Much like the first time around the inspector's report summarises the benefits of the proposal by saying:

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On November 26th 2012 Teignbridge District Council planning committee voted to refuse planning permission for Inazin Solar's application to construct a 13.5 Ha solar photovoltaic "farm" on land owned by the Fulford Estate near Gold's Cross Hill, between Tedburn St. Mary and Cheriton Bishop. I presume the fact that I objected to that application, at the second time of asking, explains why I have just received a letter from Teignbridge DC which says (amongst other things) that:

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The minutes of the meeting of the Teignbridge District Council planning committee held on November 26th have now been published. For some strange reason their coverage of my own contribution to those events is rather brief. It reads as follows:

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In some good news for those who, like me, oppose large scale solar PV parks on what assorted planning regulations refer to as "our best and most versatile agricultural land", the Planning Inspectorate have dismissed Inazin Solar's appeal against the decision of Teignbridge District Council to refuse planning permission for the 40 acre Fulford Solar Park at Gold's Cross Hill near Tedburn St. Mary.  The inspector needed to make two site visits since he:

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After diverting around a flood or three I've just returned home from Newton Abbot, where I put on something of a performance before the Teignbridge District Council planning committee as they debated Inazin Solar's application for a 13.5 Ha solar photovoltaic "farm" on land owned by the Fulford Estate near Gold's Cross Hill, between Tedburn St. Mary and Cheriton Bishop.  Due to Inazin's apparent difficulty comprehending the subtle difference between MW, MWh and MWh/year I have somewhat impudently christened the project "The Fulford Solar Kettle". I was up first, and this is the approximate text of the impassioned speech I then delivered.  I say approximately because I did get a bit excited and thus diverted slightly from my hastily scribbled script on one or two occasions:

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After a fair few emails and phone calls my penultimate set of objections to the second coming of the proposed Fulford Solar Park at Gold's Cross Hill near Tedburn St. Mary finally made their way onto the Teignbridge DC planning website this afternoon. If you enjoy a bit of a giggle download the three documents posted on Friday 23rd November.

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I've received a letter from Teignbridge District Council informing me that:

The [Fulford Solar Park] application will be considered by our Planning Committee on Monday 26 November 2012 in the Council Chamber, Forde House, Newton Abbot starting at 9:45 am.

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It has just come to my attention that a couple of weeks ago Westmill Solar Park near Watchfield in Wiltshire was finally acquired by a local co-operative. According to their press release:

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On July 9th Teignbridge District Council planning committee voted to refuse planning permission for the 40 acre Fulford Solar Park at Gold's Cross Hill near Tedburn St. Mary. In a not entirely unexpected turn of events the developer of that project, Inazin Solar, have now appealed against that decision. Not only that, but they have also simultaneously applied for planning permission for a remarkably similar new project, together with the requisite screening opinion. Consequently there are now three new entries on our interactive map and list of large scale solar PV projects in South West England, all at the same location!

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According to a Royal Bank of Scotland press release last week:

London-based InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, one of the UK’s leading environmental infrastructure investors, has acquired three ground-mounted solar parks in Cornwall with debt financing from a consortium of banks – Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking, HSBC Bank Plc and Santander Global Banking and Markets.

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