Murton solar farm plan rejected by council

Developers said the farm would have produced enough power for 17,000 homes (file photo)

Plans for a solar farm have been rejected by councillors.

Aura Power wanted to build a 100-acre development at Croup Hill in Murton, County Durham.

The plan attracted 75 objections, with Murton Parish Council saying it was an "overwhelming" encroachment on open countryside.

Durham County Council's planning committee rejected the plan despite it being recommended for approval by officers.

Opponents said the plan was intrusive, misplaced, untested, community-damaging and "riddled" with landscape and ecological issues, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

They also had concerns about proximity to houses, fire risk, radiation and impact on roads, wildlife, house prices, food production and agricultural land.

Aura Power development manager Chris Featonby said the farm would have helped tackle the climate crisis, saving more than 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, and would have generated enough electricity to power 17,000 homes.

He added: "It is a temporary development and after 35 years all the infrastructure can be safely removed and the panels will be recycled.

"The land will likely return to farming in better condition than before."

Planning committee member David Boyes said he supported renewable energies but the farm was the "wrong development at the wrong site".