Help raise the Initial £5,000 to start us on the way to our £30,000 FUNDRAISING TARGET

Forecast High Court costs: £50,000–£55,000     |  Already committed: approximately £20,000

Holmside Hall is more than our business. It is our home, a home for dozens of horses and a place people choose because of its peaceful countryside setting. Now its future is threatened by a large industrial solar development that would surround our year-round turnout fields on three sides.

New Acres Solar Farm has been approved on appeal for 50 years. It includes a permanent electrical substation approximately 90 metres by 40 metres, directly adjoining our grazing fields and close to our homes.

People choose Holmside Hall not only because of the care and facilities we provide, but because of the quiet surroundings, open landscape and quality of the turnout. If our fields are surrounded on three sides by solar panels and industrial infrastructure, can we continue to offer the environment that owners value and that keeps our business viable?

We are not opposed to renewable energy. We are asking the High Court to decide whether this particular planning decision was reached lawfully and fairly.

The case is forecast to cost between £50,000 and £55,000. We have already committed approximately £20,000 of our own money and family savings. We now urgently need to raise a further £30,000.

Please help us protect our horses, our business and the community that depends upon Holmside Hall.

Why Holmside Hall matters

For more than 20 years, Holmside Hall has provided livery, year-round turnout and a home for dozens of horses.

During the planning process, our concerns were met, in substance, with the suggestion that the horses could simply be moved to another field.

But horses and grazing fields are not interchangeable.

The affected fields provide our horses’ year-round turnout. Moving them around within the same affected environment would not remove the potential impact of a development surrounding their land on three sides.

Horse welfare depends upon temperament, herd behaviour, safe turnout, suitable land and the nature of the surrounding environment.

If owners no longer consider Holmside Hall a suitable or attractive place for their horses, our business could become unviable and ultimately be forced to close.

At the heart of our community

Holmside Hall is not simply a livery yard. It is a place where people work, learn, compete, meet and build their futures.

Our apprenticeship scheme has welcomed more than 40 apprentices, providing employment, education and practical training. We are proud to have helped young people develop their skills, confidence and experience for their future careers.

Several equestrian businesses and smallholdings lie within approximately one mile of Holmside Hall, collectively caring for around 250 horses. Their owners and riders use our facilities and support our events throughout the year.

Holmside Hall Road is also an important local hacking route used by riders travelling to and from our venue.

We regularly host:

• equestrian clinics, shows and competitions;
• events for local and national riders;
• dog shows;
• tack sales; and
• apprenticeship and training opportunities.

If Holmside Hall is lost, our community could lose much more than an equestrian centre. It could lose jobs, apprenticeships, education, events and an established hub serving hundreds of horses and riders.

Why are we going to the High Court?

Durham County Council originally refused planning permission for New Acres Solar Farm.

The developer, Ampyr Solar Europe, appealed. On 24 July 2026, a Planning Inspector overturned the Council’s decision and approved the development.

For full planning case details, please refer to Durham County Council planning application reference DM/24/03466/FPA (also written as DM-24-03466-FPA).

This High Court challenge is not another planning appeal. The Court will not simply decide whether it agrees or disagrees with the solar farm.

The Court will consider whether the decision was reached lawfully.

Our challenge raises concerns about:

• whether the Planning Inspector acted in breach of Guidance in unfairly accepting new evidence/material, without giving us and the public a fair opportunity to see and answer it;
• whether adequate lawful reasons were given for rejecting central parts of our site-specific evidence and veterinary evidence;
• whether the conclusion that horses would habituate properly addressed the lack of unaffected alternative turnout and the risk of a collective herd response;
• whether residential noise assessments properly addressed more sensitive horses in closer grazing fields; and
• whether the glint-and-glare assessment remained reliable after its screening assumptions were challenged by professional landscape evidence.

If our challenge succeeds, the appeal decision would be quashed and have to be reconsidered through a lawful process. 

Why we believe the process was unfair

During the written appeal, the developer submitted final comments and supporting information whichwere not made available to us or the public.

This included evidence from another horse owner, examples of other solar farms near equestrian facilities, revised British Horse Society material and a claimed 2027 grid-connection date.

Our professional evidence

We did not rely on unsupported fears. At our own expense, we commissioned independent veterinary and landscape professionals to examine the circumstances at Holmside Hall.

The veterinary evidence considered:

• the development surrounding the turnout fields on three sides;
• the absence of unaffected alternative turnout;
• individual horses’ responses to visual and acoustic stimuli;
• the conditions needed for genuine habituation; and
• the possibility that one reactive horse could trigger a collective herd response.

The Inspector concluded that there was no reason why the horses would not habituate and suggested that horses less inclined to habituate could move around the fields.

Our concern is whether adequate lawful reasons were given for rejecting the central conclusions of the site-specific veterinary evidence.

Our landscape evidence also challenged the screening assumed by the developer. The glint-and-glare assessment relied upon vegetation reaching approximately 12 metres, while our professional evidence indicated that the proposed species were likely to reach approximately 3.5 to 8.5 metres by year 15, potentially less in the exposed conditions.

We believe the decision did not adequately resolve whether the glint-and-glare assessment remained reliable without the level of screening upon which it depended.

Our concerns about water

Our horses use local springs and watercourses. We remain concerned about the possible effects of the development’s construction, drainage and long-term operation on those water sources.

We are not claiming that damage is certain. We simply believe that the potential effects on water sources used by horses should be properly understood and addressed.

Why we need £30,000

The High Court case is forecast to cost between £50,000 and £55,000.

We have already committed approximately £20,000 of our own money and family savings towards professional evidence and legal costs.

We are asking for help to raise a further £30,000 towards:

• our solicitor’s and barrister’s fees;
• preparing and presenting the High Court case;
• responding to the Defendants’ submissions;
• court fees and related costs; and
• further professional work required as the case progresses.

Our solicitor is Susan Ring (https://www.grsolicitors.co.uk/about-us/our-team/susan-ring/) and our barrister is Richard Harwood OBE KC of Essex Chambers (https://www.39essex.com/profile/richard-harwood-obe-kc/).

All funds raised through CrowdJustice will be applied to the legal case in accordance with the platform’s arrangements.

We have committed everything we reasonably can. We now need the equestrian community and the wider public behind us.

We will fundraise too

We will work for every pound we ask others to contribute.

Alongside this CrowdJustice page, we plan to hold showjumping shows and other fundraising events at Holmside Hall. These events will bring people together, raise funds and demonstrate how much Holmside Hall contributes to the community.

The neighbouring Burnhope case

A separate High Court challenge concerns another solar development near Burnhope, opposite the New Acres site.

We support the Burnhope community and are helping where we can, but theirs is a separate development and legal case.

Funds raised through this page will be used solely for the Holmside Hall and New Acres High Court challenge.

How can you help?

Please donate

Every contribution, large or small, will help us reach our £30,000 target.

Please share our campaign

Please share this page with horse owners, riders, equestrian businesses, veterinary professionals, farriers, riding clubs, local businesses and anyone who believes in fair decision-making and access to justice.

Support our events

Please join us at our forthcoming shows and fundraising events. Every entry, contribution and share will help.

Stand with Holmside Hall

We never expected to find ourselves challenging a government planning decision in the High Court.

Holmside Hall is our home and our livelihood. It is also a place where owners trust us to care for their horses and where young people have started their working lives.

For more than 20 years, we have built a business centred on horse welfare, training, opportunity and community. We do not want to lose everything we have worked for without having the lawfulness of this decision properly examined.

We have already invested approximately £20,000 of our own savings. We cannot complete this legal challenge alone.

Please donate if you can, share our campaign and stand with Holmside Hall and the wider equestrian community.

Thank you for your support.

Ian & Danielle Cutter