Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has welcomed the findings of the scoping direction report issued by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) relating to the proposed solar farm near Ponthir.
The proposed development would see over 300 acres of land turned into a solar farm, and has come under heavy criticism from Mr Fox, local councillors and the community.
Mr Fox wrote to PEDW in November to highlight the concerns of residents, and to request that certain elements that had been requested to be ‘scoped out’ by the developer be kept, following significant concern from constituents.
PEDW have now published their direction report and have confirmed that a wide range of issues must be fully assessed, including traffic, agricultural land, waste, air quality and ecology to name a few. Only a small number of topics were accepted for exclusion, which were contaminated land and fluvial flood risk, but surface water, drainage and pollution remain scoped in.
Substantial obligations have been placed on the applicant, including a full transport assessment, detailed landscape and visual impact assessment and ecology surveys.
During the report, it was noted that multiple authorities and stakeholders had raised concerns about the application to date, citing inaccurate baselines, lack of clarity and premature requests to scope out key considerations.
PEDW have noted the developer must now prepare a full environmental statement, addressing all scoped in topics, with a statutory pre-application consultation to follow,
Mr Fox has confirmed he will continue to scrutinise the process closely, whilst also listening to community concerns to ensure all views are put forward prior to any decision being taken.
Local MS for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has said:
“I welcome this report being published and the wide number of topics that have been kept in and now require assessment.
“It was wrong to see a request for vital issues, such as flooding and traffic to be removed, especially considering the huge impact this development could have on the local area.
“I truly believe the pressure from the community, myself and others has resulted in this stricter scope being set by PEDW, which goes to show what happens when people work together.
“I will continue to monitor this situation very closely, and will take forward any concerns that residents' may have.”
Notes to editor:
1. A copy of the Scoping Direction Report can be found here: https://planningcasework.service.gov.wales/case/CAS-02366-F2C3K8
