Since our last report on varying opinions concerning the potential environmental impact of the proposed solar PV park at Cofford Farm near Starcross some additional correspondence about the matter has been received by Teignbridge District Council.

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The mound of virtual paperwork associated with the proposed 23.3 hectare solar PV park at Cofford Farm near Starcross has been gradually accumulating for a couple of weeks now.  In their original request for a screening opinion from Teignbridge council Hive Energy suggested that:

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The minutes of the meeting of the Teignbridge District Council planning committee have now been published, including the debate about a proposed 40 acre solar farm at Gold's Cross Hill near Tedburn St. Mary that I contributed to last Monday.

More on Teignbridge DC Minutes Reveal Reasons for Refusing Tedburn Solar Farm

I attended the Teignbridge District Council planning committee meeting at Forde House in Newton Abbot earlier today. I was there objecting to the proposed Tedburn St. Mary solar PV farm, and the members ultimately voted to refuse the application with a ratio of 3:1. Over coffee after the vote my local district councillor pointed out to me that a request for a screening opinion had been received for a 23.3 hectare solar PV park near Starcross.

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Councillors on the Teignbridge District planning committee have recently received the agenda of a meeting to be held on July 9th. The agenda points out that the the meeting is open to the public, and the "public access statement" therein states that:

More on Tedburn St Mary Council Opposes Goldscross Hill Solar Farm

Friday 22nd June 2012

To:

Jeremy Ebdon – Teignbridge DC Planning Department
Brendan Clarke – Lightsource Renewable Energy

Dear Sirs,

My continued requests for information from the Teignbridge District Council planning department have so far elicited no response from the officer dealing with the Bowhay Farm Solar PV project. As I am sure you must be aware, time is of the essence in these matters. I would be extremely grateful if somebody could get back to me as soon as possible to answer a few queries I have after reading all the documentation available online concerning the SO application.

More on An Open Request for Planning Advice

I've recently returned from Shillingford St. George, where I sat at the front of the packed village hall whilst Penny and Brendan from Lightsource explained the virtues of generating 12.3 MW of renewable energy on grade 2 agricultural land just north of Dunchideock.  I did enquire if it would be OK for me to record the proceedings on my trusty Sony Handycam, or even just a still camera. Lightsource informed me that they weren't "comfortable" with that idea. The lady sat next to me informed me that she thought "that's a pity".  That is indeed a pity, because it means a more "in depth" report will have to wait for another day,  always assuming that I can successfully decipher my hastily scribbled notes.

More on A Brief View of the Bowhay Farm Solar PV Public Information Evening

The person I'm assured I need to speak to in the planning department of Teignbridge council still hasn't replied to any of my phone calls or my email. With this evening's meeting with Lightsource looming I thought I'd pose one of my planning related questions here, to see if anyone else knows the answer. On page 4 of Lightsource's request for a screening opinion it states:

More on A Variety of Views on the Impact of the Bowhay Farm Solar Park

According to the BBC:

Plans to build a solar farm near Exeter have been opposed by some residents.

Regular readers please note that the residents in this case live west of Exeter near Tedburn St. Mary, not south of Exeter between Ide and Dunchideock. According to the BBC once more, this solar park has been proposed by Inazin Solar, and they say that:

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I've no idea as yet who put it there, but yesterday I discovered this leaflet in my porch:

Notice of proposed 54 acre 12.3 MW solar farm near Shillingford Abbot

More on Lightsource Planning 54 Acre Solar Farm in My Back Yard