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Additional reporting by kmfm’s Lucy Hickmott
Controversial plans for a solar farm have been approved – despite residents warning it will despoil a “historic, rural agricultural landscape”.
Energy firm Enviromena was granted permission last night to build the facility on land off St Mary’s Road, opposite Marten Farm, on Romney Marsh.
Covering 40 hectares – roughly the size of 55 football pitches – the site is currently used to grow crops, including a “very healthy” winter wheat harvest, opponents told councillors.
The decision was made at a packed meeting of Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s (FHDC) planning committee, where officers had recommended approval.
The public gallery was filled with members of campaign group Hands Off Our Marsh (HOOM), which was set up to oppose the growing number of solar farm proposals across the area.
They say that if all the facilities are approved, it would cover eight-and-a-half square miles, which would be “devastating” and “totally industrialise” the area.
Speaking against the plans, HOOM representative Amanda Farrant said: “We’re not against renewable energy, we support it in the right places.
“This proposed scheme is the wrong project in the wrong place.”
She also warned the development could increase the risk of flooding on the low-lying marshland.
As with many solar schemes, Enviromena says the development will be temporary, with panels removed after 40 years. During that time, the land would remain in agricultural use for sheep grazing.
Cllr Colin Woollard of Newchurch Parish Council told the meeting that residents and councillors are “unanimous in opposition” to this scheme and three other proposed solar farms on the Romney Marsh.
He argued the parish would see no direct benefit from the energy generated, adding: “However, our parish will have to live with the disruption of visual amenity for 40 years – and the disruption and damage that large amounts of construction traffic will inevitably cause to the road network.
“Our parish council does not oppose the need for clean energy but large schemes like this must ensure that local residents’ day-to-day lives are safeguarded and their sense of place is not harmed.”
District and county councillor David Wimble (Reform UK) also spoke out against the plans, saying: “Romney Marsh is not an industrial site – it’s a historic, rural agricultural landscape.
“Forty years of panels, fencing, substations and access tracks is not temporary in planning terms.”
In planning documents submitted to FHDC, Enviromena said the solar farm would generate enough renewable electricity to power about 10,600 homes each year.
The Romney Marsh has become an increasingly attractive location for solar developers due to its flat, open landscape and lack of trees. Renewable energy schemes are a national planning priority, with councils encouraged to approve projects where possible
Addressing concerns, Steven Bainbridge, speaking on behalf of Enviromena, told councillors: “When we refer to temporary development, we mean it’s reversible in planning terms.
“It’s not prime agricultural land. The soil is not lost and can remain in pastoral use having rested for 40 years.”
Environmena first lodged its application in March last year and more than 80 objections were submitted by members of the public ahead of the meeting.
However, councillors narrowly voted to approve the plans by six votes to four.
After the decision, Enviromena’s chief development officer Mark Harding said: “We’re pleased the planning committee recognised the project’s merits, and we’re proud to be bringing forward something that strengthens the local environment and delivers long-term benefits for the community.”
A spokesperson for HOOM said the approval “sets a dangerous precedent” and warned the Romney Marsh risked becoming an “industrial energy zone” at the expense of food security, flood safety and its historic character.
Find out about planning applications in your area by visiting the Public Notice Portal
Speaking to KentOnline’s sister radio station, kmfm, this morning, Ms Farrant said: “We are incredibly disappointed in the way the vote went. We’re still incredibly concerned about some of the issues.”
She says HOOM is very worried about the three “super-sized solar projects also in development” which will “cover eight-and-a-half square miles” of Romney Marsh.
“That is going to be devastating. That is totally industrialising Romney Marsh,” she said.
Ms Farrant says HOOM is also concerned the area’s historic drainage system could be overwhelmed.
She added: “It’s a dangerous precedent in the sense that we’re seeing around the country, these big solar schemes just being just being ticked off, especially by the Secretary of State for Energy.
“Seeing that there’s one here is going to seem like, well, that’s fair game, and probably open it up to developers wanting to come and take even more land, you know, to build solar.”
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