Plans for a solar farm on 200 acres of land near Truro have been lodged with Cornwall Council. 

The application has been met with concern by some members of the public, who fear the effect it will have on the local area, the loss of food-producing land and the possibility of flooding, with a local resident calling it “moronic”.

Downing Renewable Developments LLP has applied to install Fair Park Solar Farm on farmland near the villages of Mitchell, Ladock and Trispen to harness solar power to generate electricity. 

The 85-hectare development would include solar panels and associated electrical infrastructure, battery containers, a control room, substation and network operator kiosk, internal access, CCTV and security fencing, and landscaping.

The construction of the solar farm would take around six months and would operate for 30 years, at the end of which the site would be decommissioned and removed, with the land then returning to its original or similar use.

Community engagement meetings have been held at Ladock Community Hall and St Erme Village Hall. Following comments received from the local community regarding the size of the proposed solar farm and the potential for visual impacts amendments were made to the scheme including removal of a 104-acre section and reducing the total size of the development by 47 per cent.

The site is in a rural location, near two large windfarms and is located adjacent to the Carrick Heaths Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Newlyn Downs SSSI and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). 

There is an Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) 200m to the east of the site and another AGLV three kilometres to the south, with three areas of Ancient Woodland located within three kilometres of the site.

A number of concerned residents met to discuss the application on Thursday, April 27, and will be adding their comments to Cornwall Council’s planning portal, where a number of people have already made their feelings known.

Tanya Crossman said: “I cannot stress enough how strongly I and other local residents and users of the bridleway and public right of way object to this moronic planning application. It looks like not a single care has been given towards the area’s historic artefacts, rare wildlife, leisure businesses and jobs or the UK’s dwindling food production that started to show its impact earlier this year.

“That’s before considering the number of users of the footpaths that walk the route through the fields and trees in the the SSSI area. Then there are friends of mine that work at the local wedding venue who will lose their jobs when couples find out they will have a solar farm as the backdrop to their special day.”

She added: “If this application goes ahead, so much wildlife, history, local income and food security will be destroyed. I fully believe in producing greener energy, but with lack of space in the UK we need to be smarter about where and how this is produced without it impacting land that could be more useful for actual life-changing projects.”

Rebecca Gregson, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said: “Any application for such a huge industrial development on productive land in such rural countryside should be refused. It includes a much appreciated public footpath with far reaching views and would have a devastating impact on the local landscape. The cumulative effect of losing yet more food producing fields to concrete, metal and glass should not be underestimated. This plan would also destroy a significant swathe of Mid Cornwall and strip it of its natural beauty.”

Colin Howes added: “Cornwall Council Development Plan states that development should only be considered in areas at the lowest risk of flooding”. The lane bordering the proposed site has always been liable to flooding during heavy rainfall, but it has been noted that recently the surface water run-off onto the lane from fields included in this proposal has got significantly worse. It is believed that the removal of several hedges which would increase the usefulness of the site has contributed to this. The resulting floodwater has affected several properties, including a Grade II listed building, and threatened others.”

Aaron Stephens wrote: “The removal of a vast swathe of vital food producing land would be nothing short of reckless. This proposal would remove hundreds of acres of vital crop fields from agricultural production. We need food and energy, not one or the other. As Cornwall now produces more energy from solar than it can use but does not produce enough food, this proposal makes no sense at all.”

Carland Action Group, a local community organisation, said: “Our beautiful rural valley of Hendra is under threat from a massive solar park, which we are all trying our hardest to fight. Think of the fields surrounding our homes, the views and that special sense of being in a hidden and unspoilt spot. All that could be destroyed by acres of concrete, metal and glass.

"This is not what some people might call nimbyism – even the most hard core climate change activist agree that this is the wrong place for such a large scale development and that Cornwall Council are blinkered in their approach to green energy solutions.”