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Green fury as city council pulls plug on Moseley church solar panels
| Published: 4th February 2010 20:40 |
Members of Moseley's influential green lobby are expressing concern that a national award for sustainability could be thrown into doubt after ambitious plans for solar panels on the church roof were rejected by Birmingham City Council.
A last minute campaign - almost doubling the letters of support for the green energy plan - was not enough to win the vote at the city's planning committee today.
Officials had recommended refusal for the application because of the impact on the church, which is a Grade Two listed building in the heart of a Conservation Area. 
But vice chair of Moseley Forum Claire Spencer argued that the solar panels do not contradict advice given by the national conservation body English Heritage.
"The proposed array adheres to the guidelines laid out by English Heritage in their publication ‘Small scale solar electric (photovoltaics) energy and traditional buildings'," she said before the planning committee meeting.
"From the pavement, the array will be largely obscured from view by the facade. When we looked into it, we discovered that we had to achieve some height - for example, the top deck of the bus, the upper floors of buildings opposite on St. Mary's Row - or stand on Oxford Road to view the part of the roof where the panels will go. However, it is not possible to see them from the Oxford Road vantage point during months when the trees are in leaf."
One of the objections was withdrawn at planning committee and councillors also heard a passionate plea from the local MP Lynne Jones who said the congregation of the Church, mostly local residents, would not have even contemplated submitting the planning application if they thought the changes to the roof would significantly effect the attractiveness of their building. .
She also warned against a short-term view on climate change.
"I would also wish to point out that this installation is completely reversible whereas, if we do not start to develop real capacity to deal with climate change, of which this is a flagship project, the irreversible changes that will result from climate change have the potential to cause severe, possibly irreversible damage, including to historic buildings," she said.
At today's planning committee five councillors voted to overturn the official recommendation and approve the green energy plan. But they were outnumbered by seven votes to refuse the church roof solar panels. Two councillors, including the deputy leader of the Labour group, abstained.
Anger at report
Green campaigners in Moseley were angry because they said key facts had been left out of the official report recommending the scheme be turned down.
Chair of Moseley Forum Esther Boyd says it was wrong to suggest the solar panels, which have already received £30,000 funding from the British Gas Green Streets project, would only have a neutral effect on sustainability.
"The installation would deliver around 8,000 kWh of renewable electricity each year, most of which would be fed back into the grid, generating income," she says.
The planning officer's report also fails to mention support from Birmingham City Council's own head of climate change and sustainability, she claims.
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