Decision due on village solar farm with potential to power 16,000 homes

A solar farm is planned for land either side of Oakley Wood in Charnwood and North West Leicestershire

A solar farm that could power more than 16,000 homes and is planned for land between two villages is set to be given the go-ahead at a council meeting later this week. Members of Charnwood Borough Council’s plans committee will consider the scheme by Endurance Energy for land between Long Whatton and Hathern.

In a report to the committee, planning officers have recommended the solar farm be approved, subject to conditions. The land straddles the boundary of Charnwood Borough Council and North West Leicestershire District Council, with North West also yet to make a decision on its part of the application.

The 99-hectare site is split across two parcels of land on either side of Oakley Wood and is to the west of Hathern and north of Shepshed. The smaller parcel in the west falls in North West Leicestershire, and the eastern parcel is in Charnwood.

The farm has been designed to allow agriculture to continue on the site, and Endurance Energy says it has worked with wildlife groups to restore ‘historic ponds’ on the site. But two local residents have contacted Charnwood to object to the plans, fearing the ‘impact on the environment and countryside’, and possible negative effects on neighbouring Oakley Wood – which is a site of special scientific interest – and two nearby listed buildings.

Other concerns raised include flood risk, impact on wildlife and the loss of agricultural land. Comments were also submitted by four people to North West Leicestershire District Council’s planning team.

One objector said: “Whilst appreciating the need for the supply of green energy, the countryside around the suggested area is currently being denuded by various past and present building projects.”

When the application was submitted, Endurance Energy said the company had consulted local residents and received feedback from more than 100 people, with two-thirds supporting the plans. The planning officers’ report says the solar farm would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11,210 tonnes per year, with 448,400 tonnes saved over the expected 40-year lifetime of the scheme.

The report adds: “This represents a significant contribution to the legally binding national and international requirement and associated targets to increase renewable energy generation and reduce CO2 emissions.”

Recommending the scheme for approval, the report concludes: “The development could be successfully accommodated within the existing landscape pattern and could be assimilated into the surrounding landscape without causing any permanent harm to the landscape character or visual amenity or serious long-term harm. The proposed development would be beneficial in terms of landscape elements comprising trees, scrub, hedgerows, land cover, and ponds.”

The committee meeting takes place on Thursday (February 22) evening, and can be watched live on Youtube.