'Bad deal' blast over Churston solar farm

'There is only one response - shame on you'

Councillors trying to get South West Water to build a solar farm on fields at Churston have been accused of coming up with a bad deal for the people of Torbay.

Torbay Council’s cabinet voted unanimously to ask South West Water (SWW) to build the solar farm next to its sewage works at Brokenbury, rather than build it themselves.

The council decided last June to build the project and then sell the electricity to SWW. Now it is likely to change its mind and hand the responsibility to the water company while collecting rent in return instead.

Deputy council leader Chris Lewis (Con, Preston) said the authority’s track record on delivering its own projects was not good, and it would be better to leave it to others.

But Liberal Democrat group leader Swithin Long (Barton with Watcombe) told cabinet members: “This is very much a worse deal for Torbay residents and there is only one response - shame on you.”

Building the solar farm would have cost the council up to £2.75 million, and whoever builds it, it will help the council meet its net zero carbon commitments.

The Pennon Group, the parent company of SWW, is likely to lease the land from the council, build the solar farm itself and be responsible for its upkeep.

The council will recover the money it has spent getting planning permission for the project straight away, and will then get an income from renting the land out to Pennon for up to 40 years.

Cllr Lewis said the council did not have the expertise to build and run solar farms, and officers and staff were already busy on major projects like Union Square, the Pavilion and Oldway.

And, he added: “We don’t have a very good record of delivering on time and on budget, which is why we have brought in development partners who are experts.

“We have taken risks which have come back to bite us. Let’s learn from our mistakes and let others borrow the money and take the risks.

“We are here to bring in the private sector to deliver, and that’s what the good people of Torbay want.”

Cllr Long said he understood that getting Pennon to do the building would be a worse financial deal for the council with no benefit for the community. He highlighted the plight of Brixham Archery Club, which is unsure if it can access the part of the site it needs to use.

Independent group leader Darren Cowell (Shiphay) said the business case for getting Pennon to do the work did not make sense, and added: “This is pure, blatant political ideology, saying that the private sector are kings. We have seen plenty of examples where that is not the case.”

And, he said, the issue cast doubt over the future of a planned solar farm at Nightingale Park in Torquay to supply power to Torbay Hospital. “If this council is not capable of delivering a solar farm at Churston, I take it we will be asking the NHS to build one at Nightingale Park, and we all know the NHS will not be doing that,” he said.

The cabinet’s motion to get Pennon to build the Churston solar farm will go before the full council for a final decision next month.