Councillors are meeting at Kendal Town Hall this morning to consider two planning applications for solar farms in communities around Penrith. One application at Shap and one at Calthwaite.
Both applications have attracted strong opposition to the proposed solar farms.
The Shap application proposes covering around 31 hectares of open countryside with solar panels and battery storage infrastructure for a period of up to 40 years has generated strong opposition locally and from across the UK, with more than 230 formal objections submitted to Westmorland and Furness Council and a petition signed by over 250 people opposed to the plans.
Westmorland and Furness Council planning officers concluded that the development would cause unacceptable harm to the landscape and rural character of the area.
Andrew Williamson-Holt the councils principal planning officers said the scale and siting of the solar farm would result in significant visual harm to the surrounding countryside, and that this damage would outweigh the benefits of renewable energy generation at this location.
Mr Williamson-Holt gave his recommendation to refuse the application to the six councillors at the Westmorland and Furness Council Strategic Planning Committee.
In summing up his presentation to the councillors “Officers cannot be comfortable with this industrial esk development in this landscape”
“This development is unacceptable due to the impacts on the landscape.”
Councillors voted instead of determining the application that members of the public had travel to speak on the application to defer the decision so councillors could visit the site.
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