Fears over plan for solar farm near Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Worried residents have raised fears that plans for a solar farm on greenfield land for Chesterfield Royal Hospital will pose an eyesore and a threat to wildlife, heritage assets and the environment as well as flooding and drainage risks.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s planning application for ground mounted solar panels, infrastructure, engineering operations and ancillary works on greenfield land north of the hospital, at Calow, has triggered objections despite Chesterfield Borough Council planning officers’ recommendations that it should get the go-ahead.

A Campaign to Protect Rural England spokesperson said: “CPRE strongly recommends the installation of roof top solar panels and use of car parks in preference to greenfield land based solar.

“We are therefore very disappointed that, despite the huge amount of rooftop and car park area, Chesterfield Royal Hospital is pursuing plans for siting solar installations on adjacent farmland.”

The spokesperson added: “The Chesterfield Royal occupies a unique position compared to many other hospitals, offering patients, staff, and visitors appealing views of the surrounding countryside and green landscapes from the rear of the facility.

“These benefits will be diminished and the landscape views significantly marred by the planned solar and associated infrastructure.”

The proposed site north of the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital lies just above its grounds on grassland next to a car park close to the Macmillan building at the back of the hospital.

It is surrounded by hedging with two trees on the site and with a large number of saplings near the northern boundary and with a temporary car park at the south eastern corner.

Submissions to the council’s planning committee included 18 specific comments raising a range of concerns including flooding and drainage, the project’s scale, worries about potential water run-off, noise, light pollution, access, the loss of greenfield space, the impact on the environment, highways, wildlife and nearby residents as well as the scheme’s unappealing visual appearance.

Concerns have also been raised for the scheme’s potential impact on the Plover Hill Farmhouse and former Threshing Barn which are Grade II listed buildings close to the application site.

Plover Hill Management Ltd listed many concerns including the impact on neighbouring heritage assets, the planned fencing, lighting and camera poles and buildings, as well as feared light pollution and disturbance to properties and loss of privacy, access and a loss of local character.

A Plover Hill Management spokesperson stated: “The proposed development is unsuitable for the location and will cause serious and unjustifiable harm to the setting of the heritage assets, the landscape character and visual amenity that will not be adequately mitigated.”

However, the council has received amendments including plans for widening the landscape buffer along eastern boundary, the lowering of security fencing, and the removal of most of the lighting and CCTV columns which are now only proposed adjacent to access gates and transformer housings.

It also stipulated that as part of the NHS’s commitment to becoming the world’s first net zero health service, all hospital trusts are required to reduce carbon emissions, both directly through buildings and operations, and indirectly through supply chains and medical equipment.

A council report stated: “To meet these goals, hospitals are implementing measures such as installing solar panels. Chesterfield Royal Hospital plans to install a solar photovoltaic scheme at the hospital in order to generate green energy as part of its commitment to sustainability and carbon reduction, and to assist with cost reductions and energy resilience.”

It added: “The applicant advises that the proposed solar development will provide a considerable proportion of the annual energy requirements for the hospital, which will result in significant environmental benefits and cost savings for the Trust.”

A roof mounted solar scheme was considered, but the applicant advises that this was not considered feasible due to several technical, structural, regulatory and operational constraints.

Solar canopies on car parks within the hospital grounds were also considered but it was felt this would cause significant disruption to the availability of parking within the hospital site during construction work and it would have higher associated costs and a longer payback period and lower energy generation.

A council report stated the ground mounted scheme was selected as the preferred option because it provides the highest energy yield and it is easier to install with fewer construction and logistical risks and constraints and with minimal construction and operational disruption and risks with the best financial return.

Council planners added that information provided indicates the agricultural site is of a poorer quality and the proposal includes biodiversity enhancements around the solar panel arrays and the works would contribute towards the applicant’s aim of providing a net zero health service.

The National Planning Policy Framework requires for significant weight to be given to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation and the principle of the development is also considered to accord with the council’s Local Plan policies.

The proposed development seeks to retain and supplement the existing boundary hedgerows, according to the plans, and it would also retain two mature trees and recently planted trees close to the northern boundary.

A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment has also concluded that the scheme would retain key landscape characteristics and would not have permanent negative effects on features within the local landscape, including topography, boundary hedgerows and trees, or the existing field patterns but it acknowledges that the character of the site would change.

An assessment concluded that the proposed development does not introduce an unacceptable impact towards the surrounding light sensitive receptors and no mitigation is required.

It also stated that the proposal includes additional landscape planting along the eastern boundary to provide further screening from the nearest residential properties.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust raised no objections but it has recommended conditions relating to a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan, a Construction Environmental Management Plan with a Lighting and Enhancement Plan.

And a condition has also been attached for the land to be restored to its former condition as a grassed field after the scheme’s permission time expires, according to the council.

In addition, council planning officers deemed that any harm to heritage assets would amount to ‘less than substantial harm’ and would lie towards the lower end of a scale outlined by the NPPF.

Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority also stated that the temporary car park would need to be removed at some stage anyway so it concluded that the scheme does not result in the loss of any parking and it therefore does not raise any highway safety concerns.

The site, according to the Environment Agency, is considered to be in an area at low risk of flooding with a surface water flooding risk along the western boundary of the site.

But Derbyshire County Council’s flood authority raised a ‘holding objection’ until the applicant can submit more information regarding its concerns and similarly Yorkshire Water raised an objection due to the lack of proposed drainage information and it too has requested further information regarding the means of draining surface water.

The borough council stated that the applicant has appointed a drainage consultant to address these concerns and further information is expected to be submitted to the planning authority.

It’s report argued benefits of the scheme include a contribution to the annual energy requirements for the hospital with environmental benefits and cost savings while helping towards the provision of a net zero, public health service.

The borough council conceded the scheme does result in harm to the character and appearance of the area and to the significance of the designated heritage assets but it argued that additional planting and the retention of landscape features will offer some mitigation.

A borough council spokesperson stated: “On balance, it is considered that the public benefits of the scheme outweigh the harm identified.”

The borough council has recommended that the scheme should be granted planning permission subject to a positive response from the Derbyshire County Council flood authority and Yorkshire Water in regard to the additional drainage information and a number of conditions.

These conditions include a Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan, a Construction Traffic Management Plan and that when the solar farm is no longer in use the land shall be restored to its former condition.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee is due to meet on April 20 when a decision is expected on whether to approve or refuse the planning application.