The Proposal

When we met with a representative of our landlord in June 2022, we were informed that a planning application was imminent. At the time of writing, we are now in mid-September 2022. Why is there such a delay? It is fair to say, we have absolutely no idea what is going on.

Earlier this year, Harmony Energy “told” us of their intention to reduce the scale of their solar and battery storage development on our farmland. As we have not been consulted on these revisions, we estimate this reduction is from 180 acres to around 130 acres. Apparently, this reduction is in recognition of the fact that the original proposal included so much BMV (Best and Most Versatile) agricultural land that it was, frankly, unrealistic to expect a Planning Committee to approve. Nevertheless, this reduction is totally inadequate. The remaining land on which Harmony Energy intend to develop consists of approximately 60% BMV land (according to their statistics) and the proposed reduction is simply a token exercise designed to placate those who can see the proposal for what it is! If the revised application is granted, we will immediately lose almost half of our farm and the remaining land is simply not enough to support a viable arable enterprise. We also have NO guarantees that the remaining land and our family home in the tenancy will not be at risk from any future applications.

In their original correspondence to Ryedale District Council, Harmony Energy stated they “intend to develop 120-130 hectares of this land” (around 320 acres). That’s almost 3 times the size of the current proposal.