A developer’s appeal to push through its solar farm plans near the site of a Bronze Age burial ground has been thrown out.
Hamilton Solar Ltd had plans for a project on 23 acres of land off Hamilton Way and Cauldwell Road, between Sutton and Mansfield.
The plans would have created a renewable energy source to benefit more than 2,000 local residents.
The applicant said the land was chosen due to its proximity to a nearby electricity substation and because it is near a large industrial estate, which could “benefit from the zero-carbon power generated by the park”.
However, Ashfield District Council rejected the plans in December 2022, citing concerns over the impact on the countryside.
An inspector appointed by the Government visited the site in February this year, and a decision to dismiss the applicant’s appeal was published on Monday (4 November).
One of the main issues related to the site’s close proximity to The Mound on Hamilton Hill, a Scheduled Monument thought to date back to the Bronze Age when it was used as a barrow – a type of burial mound.
Planning Inspectorate inspector Paul Thompson said in the report: “There would be harm to the significance of the Mound, through development within its setting; and through development in the countryside, having regard to the effect on its landscape character and appearance, including its openness.
“In terms of the harms identified, the localised harm to the landscape character and appearance of the countryside would be limited.
“Having regard to the weight afforded to development plan conflict in this regard, the stated benefits would be of greater significance and would outweigh the identified harm.
“However, as I set out… the stated benefits would not outweigh the harm caused by development within the setting of the Scheduled Monument.”
Cllr Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), the leader of the council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The Ashfield Independent-run council is pro-renewable energy as we believe it will bring energy prices down and is good for our planet.
“That said, the application for the solar farm, off Cauldwell Road, between Mansfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield, was in the wrong place, and its impact on the countryside and the ancient burial ground on Hamilton Hill, which dates back to the Bronze Age, was too great.
“We are pleased that the Planning Inspectorate has agreed with Ashfield councillors that the negatives of this application outweighed any benefit.”
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