Solar panels for church in conservation area approved against recommendations

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A church in a conservation area has been granted permission to install solar panel against officers’ recommendations.

While not itself a listed building, Caergwrle Methodist Church is situated in the heart of the village’s conservation area.

When it applied for planning permission to install solar panels to tackle rising energy costs and reduce its environmental impact, its location led planning officers to recommend refusal by Flintshire County Council’s Planning Committee.

But members rejected that advice, choosing instead to support the church’s proposal.

Planning officer David Glyn Jones explained: “ The consideration of any development proposal within a conservation area requires adherence to the statutory duty set out in the Historic Environment Wales Act.

“That duty requires that regard is given to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character and appearance of such an area.

“It is considered that insufficient evidence to articulate why the harm should be outweighed by other benefits has been demonstrated. It’s an established principle in planning law that where harm to the character and appearance of the conservation area is identified, the decision maker must carefully weigh that against any public benefits that might arise from the development.”

Despite the importance of preserving the conservation area’s character however, the scheme has faced no serious opposition.

A member of the public who responded to the planning application said they supported the application. They added the proposed solar panels are black, non-reflective and therefore of no concern.

Finally they wrote that they were concerned that if energy costs of the church could not be reduced, a community facility may be lost.

Church minister support

That point was reinforced by the Reverend James Eaton-Challinor, the church’s minister.

“We understand that the building makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area,” he said. “We also believe that it’s an important community asset in the village that has both spiritual, social and community value.

“In terms of the degree of harm, our view and the view of our Conservation Officer nationally is that the harm is less than substantial.

“It is reversible and we have taken efforts to ensure that it’s not as visibly intrusive as it could be.

“We believe the public benefits of the scheme outweigh the harm – the church is used as a community warm space – and we are happy to accept a condition that says that at the end of their life they are removed from the building.”

Councillors agreed that the value of the church to the community and the importance of renewable energy and reducing costs outweighed the conservation concerns in this case.

“It is in everyone’s interests for every effort to be made to reduce carbon emissions” said Caergwrle Cllr David Healy. “The church has emerged as a crucial hub within the local community and supports a significant number of local people regardless of their religious beliefs.

“This is especially evident in the role the building plays as a warm hub in winter and a social space during the summer. It is clearly advantageous to both the church and the community for it to reduce its energy costs in order to help sustain the future of the building at a time of rising costs and the cost of living crisis.”

Approval 

As members of the planning committee leaned towards approval, Mr Jones warned that there were risks to chipping away at conservation policies.

“The implications of not supporting the officers’ recommendation as a local planning authority is that you go against statutory duty and your policy requirements in terms of the preservation and enhancement of your designated conservation areas.

“In isolation as a single instance might not be overly concerning but where that is repeated you begin to diminish the character and appearance of your conservation areas and undermine the robustness of policies that seek to protect those areas – so there’s a potential risk in terms of policy harm.”

Refusal suggested

That advice prompted Cllr Chris Bithell to suggest refusal in the hop it would prompt an appeal by the church. This, he claimed, would force the planning inspectors at PEDW to make the decision and in doing so give the council clarity on what its ultimate priority should be – green energy or conservation.

“This puts us in a dilemma,” he said. “I’m a historian and I try to retain the conservation interests of our local area and our local towns and villages. It’s important and it’s vital.

“We’re all living in the 21st century and we are urged to cut down on carbon emissions and make our buildings more energy efficient and retain heat and solar panels can help us to achieve that.

“I was rather hoping that this is refused, an appeal is launched and then we get to the opinion of an independent planning inspector.”

That proposition fell however as committee members elected to simply grant approval for the scheme.

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