Campaigners and Chichester District Council have expressed disappointment after plans for a solar farm in Runcton were approved on appeal.
The project, covering 49 hectares of agricultural land, next to Lime Kiln Barn, in Runcton Lane, was originally refused by the council but has now been given the go-ahead by the Planning Inspectorate.
Residents say the decision overlooks concerns about losing valuable farmland and the impact on the area’s wildlife corridor.
The decision to allow a solar farm to be built in Runcton has been greeted with disappointment by campaigners and Chichester District Council.
A council spokesman said: “Despite the council presenting robust expert evidence at the appeal hearing, the inspector did not agree that the loss of high value agricultural land and impact upon the character of the area were harmful enough to dismiss the planning appeal.
“We will now work with the developer to ensure that all conditions and mitigation measures are fully implemented.”
The disappointment was shared by members of SMART-FFF – the South Mundham and Runcton Trustees – Fields For Food – a group of residents concerned about development on prime farming land and in the Wildlife Corridor.
Spokesman Mark Linzey said residents felt that local planning policies and community concerns were being overridden.
He added: “This decision is deeply disappointing for local residents. It goes against the recently adopted Local Plan, threatens connectivity across Chichester’s eastern Wildlife Corridor, and removes productive farmland from use for decades at a time when food security matters more than ever.
“There are also real concerns about the potential impact on flooding in an area that already experiences problems, as well as the pressure on narrow rural lanes that are valued not only as transport routes but as an important local amenity for residents and visitors in a part of the district already seeing significant housing growth.”
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