Large solar farm plans near Twineham deferred

Planning permission for the installation of 13.04MW solar arrays on 17.1 hectares of land north of Bob Lane was approved by Mid Sussex District Council in August last year.

But residents successfully challenged the decision via a judicial review, claiming the council had failed to comply with its duties under the Listed Buildings Act.

When the application was heard again by MSDC’s district planning committee on Thursday (October 13), several members raised concerns about the impact on nearby listed buildings.

These include Coombe House, whose owners are awaiting a Historic England decision on whether to upgrade it from Grade II to Grade II* listed status.

The committee decided to defer the application to wait for a decision.

John Allen (Con, Bolney) argued that approving a solar farm, which would be next to the substation for the Rampion windfarm planned off the coast of Sussex, would create an ‘industrial energy landscape’.

Annie Hirst, chair of Twineham Parish Council, said the solar farm would have a ‘cumulative industrial effect’ on the area.

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