“Campaigners in Devon are claiming victory after plans for a solar farm were thrown out.
The council decision to reject the 45 acre solar farm near Tiverton was backed by a government inspector.
Planning inspector Brian Cook ruled the scheme would have “fundamentally changed the appearance and character of the landscape”.
He criticised Mid-Devon District Council over the way it handled the planning case.
He said there was “unreasonable behaviour, resulting in unnecessary or wasted expense”.”
East Devon Watch 
The appeal decision can be found here and is useful information when faced with planning applications for other solar farms:
Click to access READONLY
The costs decision can be found here and is relevant to understanding why councils should be professional in the decision making:
Click to access READONLY
The inspector states “Assertions about a proposal’s impact need to be supported by an
objective analysis and must avoid being vague, generalised or inaccurate and
evidence must be produced to substantiate each reason for refusal.” So it is incumbent upon local planning authorities like Mid-Devon (in this instance) and East Devon (who we are more interested in) to undertake their impact assessments professionally (i.e. competently, openly and objectively) so that they are robust and not open to question or appeal at a later date.
From an East Devon perspective, as Susie Bond has identified on her blog the application for the Welbeck site has all the signs of not having followed this requirement. See:
https://susiebond.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/further-delay-in-determining-application-for-300-homes-on-edge-of-honiton/
Does this mean we should eventually expect EDDC – in other words the local council tax payers i.e. you and me – to foot the bill for an appeal by these developers?
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