The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has welcomed the decision by North Yorkshire Strategic Planning Committee, to refuse the application for a solar farm and battery storage system on tenanted farmland in Old Malton, North Yorkshire.

The TFA had urged UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who is also the MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, to reject the proposal by Harmony Energy, which would have taken up 52 hectares of arable land and threatened the livelihood of tenant farmers, Mr Rob and Mrs Emma Sturdy.

Commenting on today’s decision, TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said: “I am hugely delighted for Rob and Emma Sturdy who have fought a long-running battle against this inappropriate solar farm application. The TFA has been pleased to have stood with them in their fight. It is good that the planning committee understood its responsibility to consider the impact on the personal circumstances of Rob and Emma as tenants of the site and also in respect of the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land.”

“I am greatly appreciative of the due diligence of the planning committee even though its planning officer recommended approval of the application. We will wait to see if the developer decides to appeal this decision, but it sends a really crucial message to all other developers that they cannot treat tenant farmers as merely collateral damage. I would hope it would also be clearly understood by all planning officers up and down the country that the impact on the personal circumstances of tenant farmers is a material consideration which they must take into account when they reach their decisions in respect of the recommendations to planning committees. A good day for the Sturdy’s and a good day the tenant farmers generally,” said Mr Dunn.