A 40-Year Industrial Power Plant
The planning application ZD25/00369/FULL seeks to build a 22MW ground-mounted solar farm on the agricultural land between Tunstall and East Appleton. This is not a temporary diversification. It is the 40-year industrialisation of our countryside, proposed by a developer with a history of dissolved companies and based on the same false promises of "biodiversity net gain" that were broken at the adjacent site.
See the Land They Want to Destroy
This drone footage (from the Stell solar farm campaign) shows the exact kind of landscape at risk: open, productive, and vital to our rural community. The landowner claims this is "low grade," but this is a subjective claim from someone with a direct financial interest.
We are demanding that North Yorkshire Council commission its own independent agricultural land assessment before any decision is made. Don't let them trade our food security for profit.
The Impact on Local Communities
The impact of these proposals is devastating. This news report (from the Stell campaign) shows the reality of what communities face. The Tunstall proposal is no different.
This plan places an industrial site directly on the doorstep of a local family, destroying their home's amenity and value for 40 years. It is an unacceptable and disproportionate sacrifice for one landowner's financial gain.
Key Reasons to Object
1. Unverified Land Quality
The landowner claims this is "low grade land." This is an unverified, subjective claim. The contiguous site was found to contain 30% "Best and Most Versatile" (BMV) land. We demand the Council perform its own independent assessment to protect our food security.
2. Proven Biodiversity Failure
The promise of "Biodiversity Net Gain" is a fantasy. The adjacent solar farm, on the same landowner's property, has a documented 2021 report detailing a history of failed and incomplete ecological commitments, including missing tree and hedge planting six years after approval.
3. The Accountability Vacuum
The company operating the failed adjacent site was dissolved this year, leaving no one to hold accountable. The current applicant, Enviromena, and its related companies are a network of dormant, non-trading, and loss-making entities. Who will be liable for decommissioning in 40 years?
4. Myths of "Local Benefit"
Claims of local jobs are baseless. The supply chain is global (China), not local. The construction requires highly-specialised transient technicians, not local job centre applicants. This provides no meaningful, long-term economic benefit to our community.
5. Disproportionate Harm
The site selection is grossly unfair, concentrating the industrial impact on a single family's home, destroying its amenity and privacy. Why should one family's home be ruined for 40 years while the landowner's own residence remains unaffected?
6. A 40-Year Industrial Site
This is not "farming." It is a 40-year industrial power plant, fenced in steel, with thousands of panels, inverters, and substations. This is an irreversible industrialisation of productive agricultural land, setting a dangerous precedent for our entire area.
How You Can Help: OBJECT NOW
Your objection is vital. Submissions must be made to the North Yorkshire Council Planning Portal.
Follow These Steps:
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Go to the North Yorkshire Council Planning Portal.
Click Here for the Planning Portal -
Search for the application using the reference number:
ZD25/00369/FULL - Click "Make a Comment" or "Object" and state your reasons. You are welcome to use any of the points from this website.
Key Points to Mention:
- Demand an independent Agricultural Land Classification survey.
- Highlight the failed biodiversity commitments at the adjacent East Appleton site (same landowner).
- Expose the "Accountability Vacuum" due to dormant and dissolved companies.
- Question the false claims of local jobs and suppliers.
- Mention the disproportionate and unfair impact on local residents' homes and amenity.