Grade II listed Lesbury Village Hall granted permission to install solar panels on roof

Plans to install solar panels on a grade II listed community hub have been approved despite fears that the harm to the building would have outweighed the benefit to the public.

The proposals will see the clean energy panels installed on Lesbury Village Hall in Northumberland - a former school founded by the Percy family dating back to 1857. Council planners had recommended the application be refused, but members of the North Northumberland Local Area Committee disagreed.

At Thursday's meeting of the committee, it was argued that the village hall - which acts as an important community hub - needed the security provided by cheap and stable energy bills to secure its future. 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. Speaking at the meeting, the applications agent Ninette Edwards said: "The aims are to reduce energy costs for community buildings in the county, reduce carbon footprints and build resilience.

"The village hall is run by a small number of volunteers and is the only venue for public events. The committee have to generate funds to maintain the building.

"Hall hire fees need to be kept low to ensure it can be used by everyone. The facilities are vitally important for local people.

"In the last financial year the hall made a net loss of £1,880, proving how challenging it is for charity to run the site and stay open for the local community."

Moving approval of the application, Coun Gordon Castle said: "It is a judgement call as to what the difference between the impact on a grade II listed building versus the impact on the community. We have to expect old buildings to move into the modern world. In my view this is an adequate reason for approval."

However, Coun Catherine Seymour was unhappy with the plans.

She said: "We have to fight to preserve our heritage. One day we're going to look around and see our heritage is being messed around.

"I appreciate saving energy, but I think there could have been another way. To put it right in the view for everyone to see, I think it's going to set a precedent - we're going down a slippery slope and I'm very, very disappointed."

The plans were approved by nine votes to one.

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