Solar farm set to be approved
A solar farm capable of powering thousands of homes is expected to be approved by councillors next week.
JBM Solar Projects Ltd has applied to set up photovoltaic panels on a 300-acre site near Roden, and says the renewable energy generated would displace 21,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Edgmond and Ercall Magna councillor Stephen Bentley and the local parish council have both objected, and are concerned the site could be sold for housing, rather than returned to farmland, at the end of the panels’ 40-year lifespan.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning committee will discuss the application on Wednesday, March 10. Planning officers recommend members vote in favour.
A report for the committee says the site, “a number of fields located to the north of the B5062”, runs towards the edge of the Telford & Wrekin Council area.
“This forms part of the proposed connection to the grid,” planning officers write.
“In the event of planning permission being granted, a further application will need to be made to Shropshire Council for the remainder of the connection.”
Vehicle movement
The photovoltaic arrays would have a maximum height of three metres. Battery units would be located throughout the site and deer-proof fencing and motion-sensitive CCTV would be installed.
A design statement, submitted by Chris Cox of Pegasus Group on behalf of JBM, says: “After the generation period the development would be decommissioned.
“The decommissioning period will be up to six months and generate 80 vehicle movements per week.”
Councillor Stephen Bentley, whose Edgmond and Ercall Magna ward includes the site, issued a “call-in” notice, requesting that the application be decided in public by the planning committee, rather than by council officers.
His concerns include noise, archaeological and wildlife impacts and the decommissioning process.
The report says Ercall Magna Parish Council also objected and was “disappointed with engagement with the applicant”, but planners add that “the applicant has attempted to engage with the local residents and parish councils”, but “this has been hindered to a degree with various lockdowns”.
Time limit
It says JBM has engaged in ways including writing and telephoning parish councillors, offering Zoom meetings and placing an advert in the local press that gave contact details and a web address – myttonsolarfarm.co.uk – where the public could leave comments.
The parish council accused the applicant of “looking to sell on the site if planning permission [is] granted”, and said a condition should be included to prevent housing being built there at the end of the solar farm’s working life, the report adds.
Planning officers recommend the committee approves planning permission but recommends conditions including a 40-year time limit and an obligation to inform the council when the solar farm is completed and operational.
Decommissioning plans should be submitted “no later than 39 years from the date of first export of electricity”, or within six months of any year-long stoppage. None of the conditions refer to the use of the site beyond the 2060s.
“The proposal would result in the loss of around 133 hectare for arable crop production,” the report says.
“This would be replaced by the potential to develop around 49.9 megawatts of renewable energy for a period of 40 years.
“This would be sufficient renewable energy to power the equivalent of more than 15,000 homes a year.
“This would be a positive benefit towards helping meet the climate change agenda.”
