A STATELY home that was bought ‘cheap’ and sold for millions in a controversial council deal has lodged huge solar panel plans for its power supply.
Ms Susan Catton of Stoke Poges Manor House has submitted to Bucks Council a planning application relating to land off Park Road.
Plans outline 100 solar panels to be installed in a field next to the Manor House for residential use, with solar battery storage housed in its pool building.
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A previous application for “a row of solar panels” was not permitted.
The site is within the Green Belt and Stoke Poges Conservation Area.
And while “within falling distance”, nearby trees ‘will not be a risk’ to the development, documents state.
“The scale and number of solar panels have been recommended by professionals as the minimum required to sustain the energy use by the Manor House and associated buildings,” a statement.
The pool house
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The Manor House has an interesting history. It was originally built around 1066, later altered in 1550, before renovations in 2008 and 2010.
In 2012, villagers were outraged when the then South Bucks District Council (SBDC) sold its freehold for just £300,000.
The Grade I listed building, where Charles I reportedly stayed on route to execution, was then bought by a property developer who put it up for sale for £13.5 million.
Stoke Poges locals demanded answers, believing the council got a raw deal. They also felt it should never have been sold, as it was gifted to the council for safekeeping in 1971 by a former Lord of the Manor.
Villagers also mourned the loss of a famous marble relief by neo-classical sculptor John Deare, which was housed at the property but was sold to a London museum.
SBDC did not receive any proceeds from the sale.
To view and comment on the plans, use planning portal reference: PL/22/0392/FA.
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