CPRE: Policy Guidance Note on Solar Energy

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) have issued a policy guidance note on Solar Energy discussing some of the law and policy issues associated with solar farm development. 

Although the guidance note is not a Government Policy document, it makes some useful contributions to the future development of solar energy in the UK.

The document recognises the important role which solar energy will play in meeting future energy needs, in particular contributing to the Government's renewable energy targets. However, the organisation are keen to ensure that solar farms "are located where they do not harm the natural beauty or productivity of the countryside and in ways that provide local benefits."

The note also highlights a number of constraints standing in the way of maximising the use of buildings for PV and urges the Government to resolve these issues as soon as possible. The suggestions and points to note include;

  • The complexity of commercial building ownership and leasing: landlords should be given greater incentives to support solar PV — for example, enabling them to become electricity suppliers
  • Commercial building valuations not attaching sufficient value to PV: surveyors should give proper regard to the benefits of PV, perhaps supported by updated surveyors' guidance
  • Permitted development rules should not unnecessarily constrain opportunities.

One key point raised in the guidance note concerns the use of planning conditions to ensure that; "solar sites continue to be classified as agricultural land throughout their life so their agricultural status is sustained." Other 'acceptability criteria' include;

  • Avoiding harm to and assessing cumulative impacts on landscape character and quality when viewed from public vantage points
  • Avoiding harm to valued and special areas e.g. SSSI, AONB etc.
  • Avoiding harm to views from publically accessible land and the surroundings of settlements
  • Avoiding best and most versatile land (grades 1,2 and 3a) noting that housing needs should be prioritised on brownfield sites with integration of solar PV into the development.
  • Avoiding adverse effects on biodiversity and delivering positive biodiversity gains. 

CPRE further recommended that a 5 point landscape sensitivity scale should be used to alleviate the planning problems arising from poor evidence in respect of landscape sensitivity studies and highlighted a need for local policy to adequately deal with solar PV development, encouraging it in appropriate locations.

On the issue of community engagement, CPRE recommended that solar farm developers provide full information to affected local communities and elicit their views to help identify and resolve potential problems.

Finally, CPRE indicated concerns surrounding one off payments to people in the immediate vicinity of a development, indicating that this fails to account for the fact that a solar development could potentially affect a landscape enjoyed by a much wider community, including future generations.

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