A PLANNING application for dozens of solar panels to be put in a village has been unanimously approved by Ryedale District Council planning committee.

The application for 76 panels in a field in the Howardian Hills village of Oswaldkirk had drawn some letters of objection from some of the neighbours and also the parish council meeting.

According to the application documents, the ground-based solar panels will be arranged in two banks in an agricultural paddock. It added the panels would be low-lying and screened by new tree planting and that they will be used to supply power to a renewable heating system at a Grade II-listed house in the village, potentially saving 100 tonnes of CO2 over a 15-year period.

The Oswaldkirk Parish Meeting had suggested the panels be placed elsewhere, and another objection said the panels would result in a “very significant degradation of views and vistas”.

But district planning officers had recommended approval of the plan - with various conditions around their visibility and permanence - and members unanimously agreed.

At the meeting, Cllr Mike Potter praised the applicant for undertaking the project “and at the same time minimising the impact on the village and its amenities”.

He added: “There’s clearly support from national policy - we must urgently stop carbon emissions.”

Cllr Michael Cleary said: “In planning terms, the negative aspects of this are outweighed by the positive aspects.”

Speaking after the meeting, the newly-elected independent councillor for the Sinnington ward, Cllr Simon Thackray added: “I hope the council’s approval of this application will send out a positive message to the people of Ryedale.

“We want to support residents in their endeavours to reduce both their, and our, dependency on fossil fuels.”