Charity asks Deputy PM to call in solar farm plans

A charity has asked Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to overrule a decision to build a solar farm on green belt land.

The University of Surrey was given permission to build on a 43-hectare site west of Blackwell Farm, Hog's Back, near Guildford, last week.

Working in partnership with SSE Energy Solutions, the university said the facility would provide 34% of its electricity.

But the Surrey Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has written to the Deputy Prime Minister to raise concerns about the facility's impact on the countryside.

In a letter to Ms Rayner, who is also secretary of state for Housing, Communities & Local Government, CPRE Surrey chair John Goodridge said the charity objected to Guildford Borough Council's planning approval.

He added the charity wanted to echo objections from Compton Parish Council.

These included the impact on "agricultural land, encroachment on the green belt, harm to ancient woodland, the land’s legal status as candidate for inclusion in the Surrey Hills National Landscape".

He added members were worried about "the applicant’s failure to fully explore brownfield alternatives" and asked Ms Rayner to call in planning permission.

The University of Surrey said the farm is part of a wider plan to install solar panels in its car parks and rooftops.

While the university's student union supported the planning application, more than a hundred residents and at least 15 organisations objected to the solar farm.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government declined to comment.

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