January 2025 Extraordinary Meeting Minutes
Digby Parish Council
Notes of the Extraordinary meeting of DIGBY PARISH COUNCIL held on Monday 27th January 2025 at 7pm, in Digby War Memorial Hall.
PRESENT – Cllr J Bourne, Chairman, (JB); Cllr A Barnham (AB); Cllr G Garton (GG)
Guest Speaker – Marc Williams
In attendance – Mrs A McDonald. Clerk and Proper Officer.
Public Forum
There were 26 members of the public present.
As there were several items for discussion the public were invited to speak after each item.
District & County Councillors' Matters
District Cllr A Bailey set her apologies
County Councillor Rob Kendrick confirmed the county council is against the mass solar farms but the decision is being made by the Government.
1. Chairman’s Opening Remarks. (25/017)
a) Welcome.
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the guest speaker Cllr Marc Willams, Chairman of Scopwick Parish Council. The Chairman stated Cllr Williams will speak about the solar farm application and then the meeting will be open for questions or comments from the public.
2. Apologies. (25/018)
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Lewington, Cllr Snowden and Cllr Groves.
3. Springwell Solar Farm Application. (25/019)
The purpose of this meeting was to consider the information about the proposed Solar Farm and to formulate a response to the Planning Inspectorate on Application EN010149 by Springwell Energyfarm Ltd for an Order Granting Development Consent for Springwell Solar Farm.
Marc Williams gave a brief description about the Springwell Solar Farm i.e. size, position in relation to local villages etc. and highlighted different points that could be taken into consideration if anyone present would like to put their objections forward. He stated the proposed development is in the wrong place and it’s the wrong technology and it is an ill-conceived reaction to the Net Zero requirements. He is not anti-green, but roof tops and brown land would be an answer rather than losing huge areas of food producing farm land to acres of glass and steel.
The proposed Navenby Substation is the hub of all the proposed solar plants, it is huge.
Farm land is deliberately being down grading so it can be applied for solar plants. Springwell will be erecting several battery storage areas around the 4200-acre site. There are great concerns about fire in these units and the contamination of the air and soil surrounding them. The proposed site is above one of the most an important water aquifer in the country. The Navenby battery site is also close to high pressure gas and water pipes serving the MOD. There is a possibility for a huge catastrophe in that area. There is also a survey showing there is a minimum of 7% loss to local property values within and around a solar plant site
The local residents are not going to receive any financial benefit from the energy produce, and all the excess energy is being pumped out into Europe. Sites that produce more than 50 megawatts cannot be dealt with by the local planning authority, that have local knowledge of the areas concerned. It is dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate.
We need to put our arguments forward about the preservation of the rural communities, the peoples voice is important.
Public Comments.
Surely The Government has already decided this is a done deal.
Realisation must come that this is not the answer and we have to fight it.
Does the application change the status of the field from agricultural.
The rooms opinion was it does change its use and it is then declared as brown field when it is decommissioned.
Once the licence is passed to Springwell Energyfarm Ltd. What guarantee is in place, that if they sell before the 40 years is up, that all the glass and steel be removed at the end of the lease.
The rooms opinion was there should be a financial package in place, but it was unknown.
The solar panels are at least 3m high, so will destroy the visual amenity of the countryside. Covering vast amounts of agricultural land is undermining our food security. In this war-torn world, this is not the answer. We should be dealing food security, before worrying about energy on this form. Brown field site and roof tops would supply enough energy but wont please the power companies.
The Chairman brought this part of the meeting to a close and thanked Cllr Williams for his time and excellent explanations. Cllr Williams stated if anyone needed help with registering on the Planning Inspectorate site, he would be happy to help. Support from Digby would be fantastic.
Chairman proposed the parish council register their objections with the Planning Inspectorate, the Clerk will put the objections together and then forward to the parish council to agree, before submitting. This was seconded by AB and all agreed.
Action: The Clerk to produce the objections, send it to the councillors for confirmation and then submit it to the Planning Inspectorate
4. Land off the Pinfold. (25/020)
The Chairman opened the meeting to the public for them to express the issues being experienced in the Pinfold are.
There is not a problem with the stable block at the Pony Paddock, but the 360 degree CCTV is intrusive, and very bright flood lighting has been installed. The lights are on all night and can be seen from B1188. The light pollution is excessive.
There were worries about a possible pony sanctuary being set up, the site is not large enough. And potentially more stables will be needed.
Concerns were expressed that apparently the stables are being used as a dwelling. There is now restricted access to the public footpath around the site and a satellite and phone line has been installed.
The Chairman brought the open public speaking to an end.
It was proposed by the Chairman that NKDC Planning be informed about the lights, the CCTV, the public footpath and the building being used as a dwelling. This was seconded by GG and all agreed.
Regarding the future use of the field, this will need to be monitored.
Action: The Clerk to notify NKDC Planning about the issues explained.
5. Planning application 24/1480/FUL – Erection of 9no. dwellings off North Street, Digby. (25/021)
The Chairman opened the meeting to the public to give their comments on this planning application
Several people had no objections to the dwellings being built but nine is too many for the site, as the current plan is creating a lot of overlooking into existing neighbouring homes and this should be addressed with new design plans.
Concerns about the pressure on the current sewerage system were expressed. Anglian Water are not able to refuse the application, but currently any light rainfall causes the toilets to back up on Beck Street now, so having more water being pushed into the system would be terrible. The road for the site is only single track and this may mean the unadopted road gets used more as a short cut to the B1188 even though the access at that point is dangerous. A request for a bat and owl study is going to be asked for.
The Chairman brought this part of the meeting to a close.
It was proposed by the Chairman, the council object to this application. Firstly the number of dwellings on the site should be reduced to produce a better layout and to protect existing properties. Secondly the LCC flood team should be asked if the water flow in this area will affect other areas of the village. Thirdly, it should be asked for the application be dealt with by the planning committee. This was seconded by AB and all agreed.
Action: The Clerk to submit the objections to NKDC Planning.
20.45hrs. There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed.