Couple fear home will be surrounded by solar farm

Nigel and Crystal Foster mocked up what part of the solar panel array could look like, before it is mounted in the fields

A couple say their rural home will be "in the middle of an industrial estate" if plans for a 113-acre solar farm are approved.

Crystal and Nigel Foster have lived in the village of Exelby, near Bedale, for almost 30 years, but the fields surrounding their home could soon be leased to a firm to install solar panels.

Developer Enviromena said the site would generate enough electricity to power nearly 14,000 homes and would be "sympathetically" installed, with panels partially obscured by large hedgerows.

But Mrs Foster said: "It means our house will be going from a rural location to being in the middle of an industrial site. It's devastating."

A planning application submitted to North Yorkshire Council for the scheme, on land off Lords Lane, detailed how 50,000 panels would be placed in groups in fields around the Foster's home.

A planning application has been submitted to North Yorkshire Council

The project was altered to create corridors of space in front of and behind the property, with areas of "higher [visual] impact" removed, according to Lee Adams, Enviromena's chief commercial officer.

"We're determined to fight it and stop it," Mr Foster said, adding that he would not want to stay if the plans went ahead.

"It's been tough at times," he said.

A campaign group from the village said residents had been "in tears" at the prospect of the fields being used for the panels

Public rights of way through the fields would be maintained under the plans, with fencing placed near the arrays of solar panels.

The fields surrounding the home of Crystal and Nigel Foster are to have thousands of panels installed

"We think it would be very similar to being in a prison camp, or walking through an industrial estate where there's metal fencing and the path is very defined," Justyn Castle, chair of Stop Stell Solar Action Group, said.

"At the moment we have very wide, sweeping views in what is essentially a tranquil area."

Mrs Foster said she also had fears about the impact of the building work if the scheme went ahead.

"During the construction, we'll see everything around us destroyed," she said.

"The wildlife will be displaced. People come here to enjoy it, and it just won't be enjoyable."

Consultees have also questioned the suitability of the site.

Historic England said the location of the proposed development, close to the boundary of the Grade II registered park and gardens at Thorp Perrow, was in an area that demanded "a high level of archaeological assessment."

Justyn Castle, from the Stop Stell Solar Action Group and parish councillor Kirsty Temple have objected to the plans

A spokesperson for Enviromena said the firm had installed 17,000 renewable systems worldwide.

They said the company had carried out public consultations on the plans, including meeting with local residents at parish council meetings.

"This project does tick many of the boxes that the government are pushing for net zero and asking private companies to install projects on areas of this nature," Mr Adams, from the firm, said.

The proposal "will deliver significant biodiversity gains", including more hedgerows, the company has claimed.

However, Mrs Foster said she believed solar arrays should be placed in other areas, not on fields.

"We all know renewable energy is needed, but we believe it should be in the right place.

"It should be on the rooftops, in industrial corridors, brownfield sites. What it shouldn't be is on good quality agricultural land."

North Yorkshire Council has not yet made a decision on the planning application.

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