First £12m Shropshire solar farm gets backing
Shropshire's first multi-million pound solar farm has been given the go-ahead by council planners.
The £12 million high-tech farm will be built on a 22-hectare site at Hayford Farm, near Westbury, after planning permission was granted by Shropshire Council.
The farm, which is nine miles west of Shrewsbury, will see thousands of three-metre high solar panels fixed on metal frames, set into the ground to capture energy from the sun.
This energy will be fed back into the national grid via transformers – generating enough electricity to power nearly 3,000 homes.
It is claimed the site will save more than 4.5 million kilograms of carbon dioxide from being put into the atmosphere every year for the next 20 years.
The scheme is being run by Wind & Solar Systems Ltd (WSS).
The company initially planned to create five solar farms near Westbury, investing £60 million in the renewable energy scheme.
But the proposals were shelved after a cut in the amount the Government was paying for solar energy.
Fresh plans for one solar farm were resubmitted to Shropshire Council last August.
Guy Maxwell, from Roger Parry & Partners, which acted as agents for the scheme, said the farm could now be up and running by June.
He said: "The site is enclosed by a tree belt and tall hedgerows and the solar panels will be well hidden from view. The site also has excellent grid connection such that no upgrades to existing infrastructure is necessary.
"Solar photovoltaic systems are quiet and produce clean energy with zero emissions," he added.
In a report recommending the scheme for approval, council planner Stuart Thomas said: "There is no in-principle planning policy objection to the establishment of a solar farm in this location.
"The proposed development, as revised, would not detract from the visual amenity and rural character of the area."
