The plans for a mammoth solar farm on the old airfield at Wroughton have been given the go ahead by Secretary of State Eric Pickles. His decision follows a planning inquiry last year at which the North Wessex Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) had opposed the plans.
The day after the decision was announced the AONB said the decision had been met with “shock and dismay by those who had fought to prevent this harmful development.”
Plans for the solar farm were put forward by the Science Museum Group, which owns the land, and Public Power Solutions, which was formerly known as Swindon Commercial Services.
The solar farm will generate 40MW of power, enough for 12,000 average sized homes.
Henry Oliver, North Wessex Down AONB Director, said after the announcement:“We’re obviously bitterly disappointed. This is a deeply depressing decision, which the Government has taken in the face of clear opposition from its own advisors on landscape, heritage and the natural environment.”
“It’s particularly disappointing that in his report the Inspector has consistently downplayed the harm this development will do to the landscape – not least the breathtaking views from the Downs and the Ridgeway National Trail, and the setting of Barbury Castle.”
“National policy says applicants must demonstrate ‘exceptional circumstances’ for major developments like this to be allowed in AONBs and National Parks. The Inspector concluded that the Science Museum’s need for a reliable income stream – to make up for cuts in its Government grant – met that test.”
“We are proud to have the Science Museum in the North Wessex Downs and sympathetic to their needs, but we are dismayed that the Government deems the Science Museum’s financial plight a good enough reason to override the ‘great weight’ that planing policy gives to protection of the AONB landscape.”
“On paper, the North Wessex Downs AONB has the highest level of protection our planning system can give. However, in practice the Government has approved this huge development anyway. It underlines what’s become increasingly obvious since the major changes to planning policy in 2012: that even our most beautiful and protected landscapes are now acutely vulnerable to the overwhelming pressure for development”.
Matt Moore, Head of the Wroughton Site, Science Museum Group, explained that the farm would provide a secure income for the Science Museum’s work conserving the collection held at Wroughton: “It’s been a long wait, but we’re really pleased to have been given the go-ahead.”
Residents in the area will be able to invest in the project and a community fund will provide a sum of some £40,000 a year over the next 30 years for local projects. Work will start soon and the project should be complete by the autumn.
Clouds part as solar eclipse occurs
