Meeting hears views on large solar farm plans

3 hours ago

Clare Wordenin King's Lynn

News image — If built, The Droves solar farm near Swaffham will be in place for 60 years

Getty Images Rows of solar panels in a field forming a solar panel. — If built, The Droves solar farm near Swaffham will be in place for 60 years

Public hearings are being held by the Planning Inspectorate into a project to build one of the largest solar farm schemes in the UK.

The Droves, which would cover an area equivalent of 1,175 football pitches, is earmarked for land between Swaffham and Castle Acre in Norfolk.

Concerns were raised at the meeting by locals about the scale of the project and the impact it would have on the distinctive environment of the Brecks.

The firm developing the plan, Island Green Power (IGP), said the panels were "temporary" and that the land could be returned to agricultural use within 60 years.

Clare Worden/BBC Harman Sond is wearing a grey suit and purple tie which matches his purple turban. He has a grey beard and wears glasses. — Project developer Harman Sond said large scale sites were needed to meet the government's renewable energy goals

The 2,075-acre development would be built on farmland close to Swaffham and IGP said it would generate up to 500 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 115,000 homes annually.

The government, which has the final say on the development, has been inviting public comments on the proposals.

One of those who spoke at the Planning Inspectorate meeting was Tim Hubbard, the chair of Castle Acre Parish Council, who raised concerns about the scale of the project.

"I'm certainly not anti-solar," he said.

"I have solar panels on my roof at home - I am a supporter of solar power.

"I, however, feel that this is really one of the worst locations that they could have picked in terms of the impact it will have on local communities, heritage assets and agricultural land."

View of the RAF Marham base from behind the security fence. In the foreground is a blue sign which reads "RAF Marham home of the lightning force". — Concerns have been raised about how panels will impact pilots flying into RAF Marham

Harman Sond, project development manager at IGP, said they were taking the concerns of locals seriously and remained open to modifying their plans.

"We think that the scale is appropriate because we've done several assessments looking at various things, various areas like landscape, visual heritage, ecology, we've taken the results of all of that, we've come up with this based on what we think is an appropriate scale," he said.

A second day of hearings will take place on Thursday and will include evidence from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) about the potential impact of the solar panels on pilots at RAF Marham.

The MOD confirmed it would oppose the project due to concerns about glint and glare.

Large solar farms are a major part of the government's plans to transition to green power, with the aim of tackling climate change and making the UK less reliant on foreign energy.

Because of the scale of such projects, it will decide on planning permission for them, rather than local authorities.

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