a millionaire has won a legal victory which could see a £105 million solar farm removed at a cost of £15 million   because it overshadows his grade ii listed home daniel gerber from broughton gifford, wiltshire, was horrified when developers started constructing the 54 acre site on the doorstep of his six bedroom grade ii listed home   which is worth almost £3million he claims he was not informed of the planning application by the local authority   despite the development being just 45 metres from the boundary of his property gifford hall (pictured) mr gerber's grade ii listed home has six bedrooms and is worth almost £3million  norrington solar farm, based near mr gerber's home, was opened in june last year at a lost of £105 million  mr gerber only became aware of the project when he went out for a walk in march last year and found construction was already underway he took his case to the high court where he argued that english heritage should also have been consulted as a listed property was involved one of the country's top judges, mr justice dove, upheld his claim and has ordered wiltshire council to reconsider the planning application for the site daniel gerber (pictured) was 'horrified' when developers started constructing the 54 acre solar farm on the doorstep of his grade ii listed home  if it is refused the solar farm   which became operational in june last year   may have to be ripped up and the council could be sued by the developers mr gerber, who has lived in broughton gifford for five years, has now spoken of his victory for the first time the father of three said he was compelled to act and save the beautiful countryside around his home for future generations 'this case is about wiltshire council not following a prescribed, legal planning process but it is also about what it means to live in the countryside and what we leave for the next generation,' he said 'you can imagine my shock and horror in march 2014 when i left my house with my two year old to take a walk through our garden into the open countryside 'i could not believe the scale of the development that had started and immediately rushed back inside to phone wiltshire council 'the decision to place a 221 hectare solar farm on productive farmland, next to a conservation area and in beautiful, open countryside was made by one person   the planning officer 'a decision to build a massive, industrial development in the countryside should have gone to the planning committee 'with help one family was able to challenge a multi billion pound us company and a local council with a £350 million overall budget 'that shows the uk legal system works and should encourage other individuals to stand up against inappropriately sited, large scale development' daniel gerber is pictured addressing wiltshire council over the installation of a solar farm near his home  the submitted plans   the council has now been told to reconsider the planning applicatiom  norrington solar farm, operated by norrington solar farm limited and terraform power, was opened in june last year at a lost of £105 million should the solar farm be forced to be dismantled it could cost more than £15 million to restore the site wiltshire council could also face a hefty bill if they are sued by the solar giants mr justice gove granted ruled that the site had been built with an unlawful planning permission on the grounds that the effect on mr gerber's listed home had not been considered he said: 'it follows that from the record of the decision, the listed building and its setting was affected 'this needed to be evaluated the statutory scheme requires english heritage to have the chance to input into that evaluation 'it is precisely the matter on which english heritage's expert views should be sought the failure to do so in this case was in my view a clear legal error 'the issues in relation to gifford hall have not been considered properly 'the status of gifford hall as a grade ii listed building and the failure to give its interests a proper and lawful consideration attracts in my view very significant weight in the overall balance of considerations' mr gerber, who lives with his wife, victoria and his daughter, alice, added that if the solar development was removed the locals could once again enjoy their village he said: 'the future of the norrington solar farm is bleak 'as of thursday, march 5 2015, the whole development does not have planning permission and is unlawful 'it is clearly inappropriately sited, destroying what were once productive and beautiful, open, agricultural fields 'broughton gifford has been treated unfairly by the wiltshire planning department 'these planning officers pushed to approve three, large scale, industrial solar farms in one, idyllic, beautiful village mr gerber claims he was not informed of the planning application by wiltshire council   despite the solar development (pictured) being just 45 metres from the boundary of his grade ii listed property  a protest organised by wiltshire protect group who have mobilised to fight the development of solar farms  'these once beautiful fields were where i was privileged to meet other residents of broughton gifford 'it is a friendly village and families used to enjoy walking these once open, productive fields with their dogs 'that is impossible now with a fenced in, 221 hectare solar farm and believe me; i have not once seen a sheep grazing in this solar monstrosity, as claimed by the planning officers and developers 'we all are in favour of renewable energy, if the planning process is lawful and the development is appropriately sited 'this was not the case with the norrington solar farm' a spokesperson for wiltshire council said it carried out 'extensive publicity' about the application and will now consider an appeal 'we are disappointed with the ruling and will be considering our position regarding a possible appeal 'we carried out extensive publicity concerning this application at the time, including site notices, a press notice and notifying neighbours we considered would be affected 'we will now meet with the landowners to ensure accurate plans of the development are submitted before consulting with english heritage 'the application will then be re determined taking account of the findings in the judgement'
just 45 metres resolvableness pastorship specialist washday cheneaus daniel gerber
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