A SOLAR renewable company has expressed their disappointment at the decision to dismiss an appeal for a solar farm on land at Hornacott, West Ditchen.

It was written in the report that the main issue with the appeal, made by Lightsource SPV 165 Ltd, was the effect the proposed solar farm would have on the character and appearance of the landscape — whether that be on its own or in combination with other solar schemes in the area.

Inspector Geoffrey Hill made a site visit on February 9, 2016, to assess the appeal made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Renewable energy schemes, such as this one, have gained considerable backing from government and are seen to be a form of sustainable development.

However, the inspector raised the point in his report that ‘these matters have to be weighed in the balance to assess if the appeal scheme represents sustainable development overall’.

In his report, Mr Hill added: “In view of the harm the proposed scheme would cause to the character and appearance of the area it would not represent sustainable development.

“None of the other points raised in support of the scheme are sufficient to outweigh the harm it would cause.”

The appeal was dismissed on Monday, March 21, 2016.

Previously the proposal for a solar farm at West Ditchen had been recommended for approval.

The planning officer had recommended the application for approval with conditions and the host parish council, North Tamerton, was in support.

After the planning committee met on June 4, 2015, the majority of councillors voted in favour of refusal of the application, who agreed ‘that the individual landscape and visual impact of the proposal in accumulation with other solar schemes in the area would introduce an excessive amount of development that exceeds the capacity of the landscape to accommodate such development without unacceptably harming its natural quality and amenity’.

Conor McGuigan, planning and development director at Lightsource, said: “We are obviously disappointed by the decision from the Planning Inspectorate, particularly as the planning case officer at Cornwall Council had recommended the scheme for approval.

“We’d like to thank everyone who gave us feedback on the project. It’s a great shame that the local community will now miss out on the many benefits that a solar farm can bring, above and beyond the generation of clean, renewable power.”