A BUILDER has scorned City of York Council’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency after winning a battle to install solar panels in the face of opposition from planners.

Michael Hammill succeeded with an appeal against refusal of permission for the panels at The Black House in Heslington Lane.

A planning inspector said the solar panels would not remove any historic fabric of the building and would not unduly detract from its character and appearance.

Mr Hammill reacted by saying: “It is astonishing that when the council have declared a climate emergency, I have had to fight for the right to install solar panels on my home.

“I hope that the planners will now adapt their negative attitude and embrace all future proposals for renewable energy, however small.”

He said in an email to councillors that his appeal should not have been necessary in the first place, and officers could have saved thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money by simply contacting him to discuss the application rather than refusing it outright.

He added that he hoped a corner had been turned and the planning department would now move in the right direction.

Mike Slater, assistant director of planning, said officers recognised the role the planning system played in the transition to a low carbon future, and planning policy supported renewable energy schemes.

“However planning policy and planning law require that all relevant issues are considered in the ‘planning balance’ when deciding planning proposals.”

He said officers had considered, as part of the ‘planning balance’, national and local policy which encouraged renewable energy projects alongside policies which aimed to protect heritage assets and the legal duty to pay special attention to preserving or enhancing the Fulford Conservation Area.

It was considered that on balance, the proposal’s benefits did not outweigh the harm to the area from the impact of covering all four roof slopes with solar panels. But the inspector had taken a different view, considering it did not harm the area, while also concluding that the authority had not acted unreasonably in making its decision.