Marsh Green solar farm debate not over yet, says councillor

Last month East Devon District Council threw out the proposal that would have seen 60,000 solar panels built on farmland to the east and south of Marsh Green and to the east of Rockbeare and the A30. 

Among the reasons for turning down the solar site at Marsh Green were environmental damage, the visual effect on the landscape, and the location’s proximity to heritage landmarks. 

Cllr Olly Davey (Green, Exmouth Town) supported the plan, arguing that ‘no unacceptable harm’ would be caused to the area, and that every effort had been made to minimise flooding. 

He has now suggested that an appeal from the developer would have a strong chance of success. 

He said: “I would be very surprised if the developers didn’t put in an appeal. They will have invested quite a lot in this already, so I would expect them to lodge an appeal, and I think they’ve probably got fair confidence that it would get passed on appeal.” 

Cllr Davey feels that while roofs and brownfield areas lend themselves well to solar panels, larger sites such as Marsh Green are also needed in the interests of sustainability. 

“I don’t think it’s an either/or,” he said. “I feel that there’s an awful lot of false dichotomies that are set up; you either put them on roofs or you put them in greenfield sites. The way things are going, I think we’re going to need both. 

“I absolutely support panels on roofs, I’ve got them myself. We were what we call early adopters; we’ve had our panels over 10 years now. It was one of the first things we did when we moved in. 

“I would like to see solar panels on every available roof, and it’s a source of despair to me when I look at all the houses that could be absolute prime sites for solar panels, but they don’t have them. 

“But the incentives aren’t there, and the interest to do it [isn’t there]. I think people don’t realise that it’s not a very disruptive thing to do, and it gives you an awful lot of free energy.”