Plan to install solar panels on listed Northumberland church approved despite conservation fears
by James Robinson · ChronicleLivePlans to install solar panels on the roof of a village church on the Northumberland coast have been approved despite the fears of conservation officers.
The panels will be installed on St Paul's Church in North Sunderland, which adjoins Seahouses. The proposals were recommended for refusal by council planners after the local authority's building conservation team objected.
It was argued that the "less than substantial" harm done to the overall building as a result of fitting the panels outweighed any public benefits of the scheme. However, the plans received 34 letters of support from local residents along with a petition signed by 18 people.
Coun Guy Renner Thompson, who represents the area as part of the Bamburgh ward, spoke in support of the application at Tuesday's meeting of the North Northumberland Local Area Planning Committee.
He said: "When this first came across my desk I thought nobody will object - how wrong I was. This is a well-supported church and it is really important we keep these old buildings going.
"They're not just places of worship, they are community hubs and bases - and this one is so very well supported. If we were to vote against our own climate change policy, people would laugh at us.
"They are situated so they can't be seen from the high street - very few people will ever see them."
The application was submitted by Community Action Northumberland, a charity aimed at sustaining rural communities across the county. Among the schemes operated by the charity is a project to install solar panels on community buildings up and down Northumberland.
The applications agent Ninette Edwards added: "The church is an important building to the local community. Churches need to meet their costs and St Paul's has just broken even this year with members working hard to come up with fund-raising ideas."
Coun Catherine Seymour initially proposed refusal of the application. However, none of her council colleagues would second her proposal.
As a result, Coun Trevor Thorne proposed approval. He said: "It's a village church, it is their community building and we have got to keep it going and keep costs low. We're putting them on the rear of the building so we're going some way to protect the listed building status."
The plans were approved by nine votes to one.
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