The council has decided to refuse the solar panels of the church in the historic center of the city

A church in Bedworth will have plans for solar panels turned down. All Saints Church in High Street has applied for permission to install solar panels on the lower roof on the south side of the building.

The church plan has received a number of letters of support but it is recommended that the application be refused as it is a Grade II listed building and is in a conservation area. In a planning application agenda, the church says it has been in the center of Bedworth since the 1300s.

“We have a central position in the city and maintaining the historic structure is a significant cost to the church,” the agenda reads. “This could lead to the failure of the church and no one to look after the maintenance.

“If owning this historic asset is, in itself, a public good, it is worth giving ourselves the means to maintain it, through the savings and revenue from solar panels.” It goes on to say that around 600 people use the church for various sessions each week and the energy bill is constantly rising.”

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It added: “All Saints spent £15,000 on energy last year. This cost is increasing due to the increasing use of the building, despite significant savings in recent years,” the report said. “We estimate that because of the increase in youth activities this year, that bill will rise to £18,000. Installing solar panels and batteries will reduce our energy bill by over £5,000 a year.

“A total in excess of the minimum guaranteed life of the panels of £155,000 and in excess of the estimated useful life of over £300,000. This saving will be transferred to public benefit by providing more community activities and greater use of the space. for youth work as well as supporting the maintenance of the historic fabric.”

Reasons for refusal

But on the council’s agenda, officers say no evidence has been submitted to show church activities could not take place without the installation of solar panels. “Therefore, without any clear evidence that such activities would fail without the installation of solar panels, this reason cannot be considered a public benefit,” the report said.

Regarding the costs, the council said: “No evidence was submitted to show that without the solar panels the church could not continue to support future community activities.

“Similarly, no evidence is provided that the annual savings are necessary to support the maintenance of the church building and its historic fabric. In any case, the maintenance and support of the building is considered vague and cannot be seen as a public benefit. Additional community activities directly linked to savings on energy bills could be seen as a small public benefit, however this could only have a very limited weight.”

It goes on to explain: “It is not considered that there are substantial public benefits arising from the proposal that would outweigh the harm.”

The council also cites Historic England guidance on installing solar panels on historic buildings and how it should be demonstrated that other options have been considered.

“Alternative options for improving energy efficiency do not appear to have been considered,” the report said.

While the application is recommended for refusal, members of the city council’s planning committee will make the final decision on whether it can go ahead or not. They are due to meet at City Hall on Tuesday, May 21.

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