Manager of Performance & Insight

Refusal of huge solar farm in Cornwall's Clay Country overturned on appeal. Government planning inspector says scheme can go ahead despite councillors being opposed Friday 14 th August 2026 4:00 pm SPREAD THE NEWS The solar farm will be built near St Dennis in the Clay Country. (Picture: Cornwall Council) (Picture: Cornwall Council) A SOLAR farm will be built across 18 fields in the Clay Country despite being refused at a Cornwall Council meeting last year. A Government planning inspector has overturned the councillors' decision and given the go-ahead for a 32MW solar farm and 45MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on 61.5-hectares of land adjacent to Trerice Manor Farm at St Dennis. The original application was recommended for approval by planning officers at Cornwall Council, but was turned down by councillors at a meeting of the strategic planning committee in July 2025. The applicant went to appeal and a hearing was held in May. Planning inspector Hayley Butcher has now published her ruling. She acknowledged that the solar array will have a "significant adverse impact on the local landscape" as well as "limited harm as a result of the long-term loss of best and most versatile land, and harm at the lower end of 'less than substantial' harm to the setting of two designated heritage assets". However, she also gave significant weight to the "national benefits associated with renewable or low carbon energy" and, in her conclusion, took the view that the "totality of benefits of the proposal outweighed the harms". Get your latest local news for free in your email inbox The applicant, Trerice Solar Farm Ltd - an offshoot of Norwegian-owned Statkraft - also lodged an application for an award of costs, but was refused. Ms Butcher stated: "Local residents and councillors raised pertinent matters in respect of character and appearance and heritage, amongst other things. Even though my final decision was to allow the development, it was not, in my view, a case which could be described as one which should clearly have been permitted, as the various matters raised needed to be weighed in the planning balance. "Members are, in any event, entitled to disagree with officers' recommendations and, in this case, they did so on reasonable grounds and engaged proactively throughout the appeal process." People living in and around St Dennis said during last year's meeting that they are fed up with the industrialisation of land in the area, which is already home to other solar farms and a "divisive" incinerator otherwise known as the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre. The appeal decision comes after another large solar farm was refused by the council's strategic planning committee last month. Also in the news Energy company EDF had applied to build a solar farm across 19 agricultural fields at Trelion Farm, near St Stephen, not far from St Dennis. Campaigners against that solar farm, as well as members of the planning committee, are aware that EDF could appeal against that decision too. Councillors raised concerns regarding appeal costs and the potential implications of refusing the Trelion Farm application at a meeting on July 16, but a vote to approve was lost. Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal. A vote to refuse was won on the grounds that "installing this large-scale renewable energy development onto these undeveloped fields on an elevated position in the countryside, would harm, to a significant extent, the distinctive undeveloped character and beauty of the application site and its setting". SPREAD THE NEWS

CCNSG commitment helping Hinkley Point C ensure safety is its first priority. Hinkley Point C (HPC) is working with the Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) to continue to ensure that the thousands of workers operating on the nuclear site stay safe. As the largest and most complex engineering construction project in Europe moves into its mechanical and electrical phase, the nuclear power station site in Somerset recognises the important role the CCNSG Safety Passport will play. The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board's (ECITB) nationally recognised CCNSG scheme has been the go-to industry safety card for the engineering construction industry (ECI) for over 30 years, with more than 85,500 active cardholders. The safety passport equips workers with the core knowledge, behaviours and awareness required to operate safely within a complex, nuclear environment. CCNSG was created by industry, which continues to oversee the scheme via a committee that HPC is part of. The committee advises on the scheme's content and delivery and is made up of engineering construction asset owners, employers, contractors, training providers and unions. CCNSG 'supporting workforce readiness' Joanne Moore, Head of Employment Affairs Unit at HPC, said: "Hinkley Point C is not only helping secure Britain's future energy needs; it is also creating opportunities for thousands of people, developing critical skills and establishing a longer-term legacy that will benefit the UK for decades to come. "Now at the peak of construction, the project is supporting 26,000 direct and indirect jobs across the UK, has invested £24 million directly into education, skills and employment initiatives which have helped provide training opportunities for more than 19,500 people. Over 1,740 apprentices have been trained so far - well above the initial targets. "HPC recognises the important role CCNSG is playing in supporting safety, skills and workforce readiness as the site continues to ramp up engineering construction activities." Pictured: Work takes place through the night at Hinkley Point C nuclear build site. Main image: Workers operating on the site in Somerset. Photo courtesy of EDF Energy CCNSG ensuring a 'common standard' on safety. Suitable for all workers in the industry, the quality-assured CCNSG Safety Passport scheme is a two-day course that gives delegates enhanced health and safety awareness. The course is delivered through face-to-face training, delegate discussion and shared experience, followed by a knowledge test. On completion, successful candidates receive a CCNSG card, which is valid for three years and is often a prerequisite for workers to enter a site. Workers renew their cards by either attending a one-day renewal course or sitting the Test-only for Renewal. Renewal of cards for HPC workers takes place via delivery of the CCNSG Test-Only Renewal route directly on-site at the HOST Campus thanks to a partnership between the ECITB, EDF, MEH Alliance, Bridgwater & Taunton College and HOST. Pictured (below): The opening of the CCNSG Test-Only Renewal centre for Hinkley Point C workers at the HOST Campus. Jamie White, who is Construction Skills Capability Lead at EDF, as well as Chair of the ECITB's Nuclear Skills Forum and Vice Chair at National College for Nuclear (NCfN), sits on the industry-led CCNSG committee as a representative of HPC. He said: "Operating such a huge, complex site means safety is our first priority and has to be at the forefront of everything we do. The CCNSG course ensures all workers meet a common standard before stepping onto our site. "Our approach to skills and our investment in our workforce in partnerships, such as we have with ECITB and CCNSG, provides the very best support to our project. "This is why we have worked closely with the Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) from the very beginning and been a supporter of the scheme throughout as it is the right fit for supporting our workforce and supply chain requirements." Collaborative approach. This CCNSG commitment builds on the collaborative approach to skills on the nuclear site between HPC and the ECITB. This has included developing the Hinkley Support Operative (HSO) bronze programme. The two-week programme uses the suite of ECITB short courses, together with the CCNSG Safety Passport, to train operatives new to working on a site. It provides learners with health and safety knowledge and basic engineering skills to enable them to gain employment as a general support operative on the HPC project. They can then progress onto the HSO silver and gold programmes, which build on the worker's engineering skills and knowledge and equip them for progression onto apprenticeships. HPC's commitment to the training and development of skilled workers on the nuclear site was recognised in 2024 when it was awarded the ECITB Skills and Training Charter Gold Standard. "The partnership between Hinkley Point C and the ECITB demonstrates the value of collaboration in addressing both immediate workforce requirements and long-term industry challenges. "Major infrastructure projects like HPC rely on thousands of workers from multiple employers, trades and disciplines working together safely and effectively. "The ECITB's CCNSG Safety Passport scheme provides a nationally recognised safety standard, underpinned by industry input, that supports Hinkley Point C's commitment to maintaining a strong safety culture at one of the UK's most complex, high-hazard sites. "Having the first ever CCNSG testing facility embedded on a live UK industry site is a milestone that reflects our commitment to safe site access, safety-critical refresher training and supporting HPC to maintain a competent, compliant workforce." Andrew Hockey ECITB Chief Executive