Residents near Bedale have raised a number of serious concerns with me about the planning application for the proposed Stell Solar Farm, a development of around 113 acres.
The questions they’ve raised are reasonable, and many of them remain unanswered:
• Lords Lane: who owns the verges and hedgerows where passing places are proposed, and what this means for residents who rely on the lane as their only access.
• Construction access: how construction traffic will reach the site, including the plans for a new bridge over the Main Cut drainage ditch, and whether vehicles will need to come through Exelby.
• Grid connection: the developer points to a connection around 2km north of the site but hasn’t set out the cable route, so residents and businesses can’t judge the likely disruption to Bedale’s roads.
• Assessments: whether the noise, flood risk and ecological assessments are robust.
• Safety and privacy: the impact of 24-hour CCTV on neighbouring homes and on the two public footpaths that cross the site.
On Friday I’ll be meeting residents to hear more, and I’ll share an update afterwards.
Decisions on planning applications rest with North Yorkshire Council, but residents have every right to understand what is being proposed and to have their voices heard. If you’d like to comment on the application, you can do so on NYC planning portal
I’ve long argued that our best farmland should be growing food, not covered in solar panels.
