UPDATED 3RD OCTOBER 2023

The application will be determined by the North Yorkshire Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday 10th October at 10am at Ryedale House, Malton, YO17 7HH.

The meeting is open to the public but spaces may be limited.  A link to the papers can be seen here Agenda for Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday, 10th October, 2023, 10.00 am | North Yorkshire Council and members of the public can watch the meeting here Live meetings | North Yorkshire Council

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Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to submit an objection to Harmony Energy’s application at Eden Farm. The quality of the 499 objections is just fantastic.

It’s been a tough week but we now move onto the next phase of this campaign.

The Planning Officer will make his recommendation and then the fate of our farming business and our Best and Most Versatile farmland will lie in the hands of the new North Yorkshire Strategic Planning Committee.

Our own personal objection is on the planning portal and available to view via the button below.

In the meantime thank you!

The planning application has been validated and you can OBJECT NOW to the application for solar and battery storage on prime arable land at Eden Farm in Old Malton!

The application documents can be viewed at the link here.  Please do take the time to view the application carefully.

• The loss of 130 acres of prime farmland which should be protected by Local and National Planning Policies. There is plenty of poor agricultural land and roof tops that could accommodate the proposed 72,000 panels.
• Taking these fields out of production is the equivalent of losing almost 1 million loaves of bread each year, for 40 years.
• The industrialisation of the local Old Malton Countryside, public footpath and cycle track.
• The removal of the existing biodiversity and farmland which has been sustainably farmed for many years.
• An unregulated battery storage plant adjacent to Eden Camp visitor attraction.
• The affect on the local wildlife, security fencing will surround the site.

The exploitation of the tenant farmer and his family who face losing their livelihood, business and family home to accommodate this proposal.

“Tenant farmers and tenant farming are part and parcel of the fabric of the countryside and vital for our food and environmental security. It is simply unacceptable that the land occupation rights enjoyed by the Sturdys along with other tenant farmers can be tossed to the side so easily. Neither the Sturdy’s landlord nor the developer has followed the established guidelines for engaging in discussions and negotiations before taking action to recover possession.

Meeting our renewable energy targets by moving good land out of agriculture into solar parks rather than using the vast area of rooves within our country’s built estate, and other brownfield sites, is simply madness. Not only is this land already delivering important high-quality food, it is delivering important environmental outcomes including carbon sequestration and storage and many other biodiversity and ecosystem services.

There are many reasons why the local planners should throw out the planning application that has been submitted by Harmony Energy. It is ill thought through and will have huge negative consequences on top of the impact it will have on the Sturdy’s personal circumstances which is a legitimate concern within the planning process. The TFA stands with Rob and Emma in their campaign to stop this development.”