Solar farm for Totnes – a boon or a blight?

Plans to site a solar farm on South West Water’s land at Littlehempston got the go-ahead this week (Dec 11).

It’s good news for alternative energy fans, the water company and – very probably – cyclists.

But for farmer Dave Smith it’s terrible news. Dave, who rents fields which will be taken by the farm and others nearby, told the Pulse: “I’m absolutely gutted. It’s a bad day for Littlehempston as a village.” When I visited him in September Dave took me to a sloping field which overlooks Totnes – land which is grazed by his sheep and which he fears will now be covered with panels.
He wrote to the South Hams planners last year objecting to the proposal.

I feel a weight of responsibility

His main beef is the industrialisation of a rural landscape and with that, the loss of productive land. “I can’t believe they have got approval for that field, the way it overlooks Totnes,” he said this week. “The blight of solar farms is spreading – who knows where will be next.”

But the thumbs-up given by South Hams planners is fantastic news for campaigners who’ve been trying for years to find a route across the river which will join up the final gap in the National Cycle Network path 2. The route covers more than 370 miles from St Austell in Cornwall to Dover. But for almost 25 years any long distance rider hoping to complete the 378 mile route has had to  dismount at Ogwell before picking up NCN2 on the south side of the Dart.

Nicky Rajska, a Littlehempston resident who’s been working with landowners to complete the final link in the cycle chain is optimistic that now the solar plan is through, the last obstacles are being cleared. “I feel a weight of responsibility because it has been going on so long. But I am encouraged by the constructive engagement we’ve had with South West Water, the South Devon Railway and Devon County Council.”

Readers with long memories will know that the major brake to the plan has been crossing Bulliver Bridge, which connects the river path to the steam railway station and the Rare Breeds Farm.
The pedestrian bridge runs parallel to the mainline rail bridge and is owned by South Devon Railway. Once over the river, the cycle path as planned has to go onto land owned by South West Water and its private road, Hampstead Lane, which connects to the water treatment works.

I’m absolutely gutted

The issue has always been how to make it as safe as possible for everyone involved.

I understand that months of negotiations between the SDR, MP Caroline Voaden, the former head of SWW Susan Davey, local councillor Sam Penfold and DCC seem to have secured agreements all round to open Bulliver bridge and SWW land to the cycle route. It’s not a done deal yet but Nicky is quietly uncrossing her fingers. “The DCC structures team are looking at Bulliver Bridge because if it enters an agreement with the railway there will be shared responsibility for maintenance,” Nicky said.

She said there would also be improved fencing on the other side of the river to ensure the steam railway halt and the rare breeds farm – and Dave’s animals – aren’t impacted by cyclists. Once linked together the NCN 2 will go through Littlehempston and along lanes to Newton Abbot, so avoiding the busy A381. The route as planned has been designed to be constructed as cost effectively as possible and Nicky hopes that a grant from DCC – which she can apply for in January – will be awarded.

She explained that her bid fits the criteria for the county’s active travel programme as it joins two mainline railway stations, Totnes and Newton Abbot, as well as the major tourist attraction of the steam railway. “South West Water and the South Devon Railway are really trying to make this happen,” she said.

The planning go ahead is another another major piece of the deal which may – if all goes well – mean cyclists can finally get on their bikes on the last stretch of the NCN 2.