RESIDENTS in Callington say they feel the town has been conned over a community benefit payment relating to the Haye Lane solar farm.

Frustration was high at a town council meeting attended by around 30 members of the public, where Cornwall Council deputy senior legal officer Julian Kitto had been invited to explain why the original offer of £625,000 had been cut to £20,000.

The five megawatt development was recommended for refusal by Callington Town Council, but was given the go-ahead by Cornwall Council in 2011. Original applicant Sunpower had made the offer of a community benefit payment of £25,000 a year for 25 years, but the new owners of the solar farm, Inazin, came to an agreement with Cornwall Council for the dramatically lower one-off payment.

Mr Kitto apologised on behalf of Cornwall Council for the fact that Callington Town Council had not been contacted when the £20,000 payment had been signed off.

He said that developers can enter into discussions on community benefits without this forming part of the planning application. It's entirely voluntary and does not form part of planning law.

He explained that Cornwall Council is not in a position to secure such payments and there is no bargaining.

Mr Kitto added that Cornwall Council was aware that the feed-in tariff had fallen, from more than 32 pence per unit in August 2011 to its current rate of 8.9 pence. Several at the meeting raised the question of why, in that case, the reduction in the payment was not proportionate to the reduction in the tariff.

Acknowledging that the situation was 'not a satisfactory outcome', Mr Kitto said that the problem was not confined to Cornwall, and that the Government was looking at the process relating to community benefits on a national level.

Cllr Jeremy Gist said that explanations were still needed on delays, and on why there was no local consultation over the change in the community benefit payment.