A victory for One Tree Hill (above) but the fight continues to save Potterne Park.....
In November 2023, Potterne and neighbouring villages were hit by a double blow: two solar farm applications, just 1,500m apart, were submitted for One Tree Hill and Potterne Park Farm.
Both proposed developments targeted productive arable land, rich in biodiversity, crossed by public footpaths, and forming part of the valued rural landscape around Potterne.
Wiltshire Council refused both applications. One Tree Hill remains refused. However, the appeal decision for Potterne Park Farm Solar has now gone against local residents and planning permission has been granted.
Potterne Solar Action Group has therefore lodged a Judicial Review challenge to that decision.
- The challenge focuses on the fact that the only evidenced grid connection date before the appeal was November 2037.
- No evidence was presented to demonstrate that an earlier connection is possible, yet the decision gave significant weight to benefits assumed to arise much sooner.
- The case raises an important question of principle: should planning decisions properly reflect when a development is realistically capable of becoming operational, especially where there may be a substantial gap between permission being granted and any public benefit being delivered?
- The challenge also questions whether the decision properly addressed the inclusion of a substantial permanent substation within a development that was otherwise classed as temporary.
- The claim has now been lodged and we await the Government Legal Department’s response before the Court decides whether the case should proceed.
We will continue to update residents as the legal process develops.