Haddon solar farm plan rejected by councillors again

Initial plans for the solar farm were already rejected by the council in December

Plans to build a 65,000-panel solar farm have been rejected following concerns about "the irreversible loss" of agricultural land.

Wessex Solar Energy said the 102-acre farm at Haddon, Cambridgeshire, would generate enough renewable energy to power 7,713 homes a year.

Huntingdonshire District Council's planning committee turned down the application for the second time.

Wessex Solar Energy was approached for comment.

The proposal attracted 106 objections and 49 comments in support, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported. said.

In December, the plan was rejected for the land north-east of Bates Lodge in Peterborough Road.

Council officers described how the application "failed to demonstrate it would not lead to the irreversible loss of best and most versatile agricultural land".

The proposal was brought back in front of the committee following a change to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which said authorities needed to "attribute significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements".

A new report from the council, regarding the application, supported the transition to low-carbon alternative energy generation, but nonetheless, eight councillors voted against it and one voted in favour.

Conservative Eric Butler said: "I have read the new NPPF fairly thoroughly; I do not consider anything really changes greatly."