Hazelbury Parish

HAZELBURY PARISH COUNCIL WILL ONLY BACK THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT IF IT IS REDUCED BY HALF

The Parish Council decided that they will only support the 190-acre industrial development at North Dairy Farm if it is reduced in size by half. The developers have previously said that any significant reduction would make the proposal completely uneconomic.

Here is the Parish’s letter to Dorset Council:

“It was agreed to re-affirm our comments of May 2021 and to support the proposed development provided that the scale and size could be reduced, perhaps by as much as 50%. The parish council would also expect full compliance with the bio-diversity measures, including planting and maintenance of hedgerows etc, for the life of the scheme and for Dorset Council to have the power and will to take effective enforcement action if necessary.

Clerk to Hazelbury Bryan Parish Council “

The community view

The image shows a view westwards from ‘The Orchard’ at the Hazelbury Bryan Conservation Area boundary, and towards the AONB. The proposed solar plant would be clearly visible across the middle ground of the photograph. The view of Hazelbury residents, from their protected Conservation Area, is towards the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – the most highly protected landscapes in England, and which Councillors have a legal duty to “protect and enhance.”

In a sense the community had already voted!  In section 3.2. of the Hazelbury Plan it states that the “features particularly valued by the community include the: “narrow country roads and lanes and with open fields between them; the many rights of way and opportunities to enjoy the surrounding countryside, the general peace and quiet” and “the surrounding hills and views out across the rolling countryside of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex.”