40-acre solar farm could be approved for Dorset today
The site proposed is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
A 40-acre solar farm could be coming to Dorset, if the proposal is passed at a planning committee meeting this afternoon at 2pm. (4 November)
The site is near Maiden Newton in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would produce enough solar energy to power up to 4,800 homes on an annual basis.
A planning officer has recommended this proposal be rejected, saying the farm would negatively impact this protected area.
The officer's report says: "The proposed development, by reason of its appearance, scale and positioning would have a detrimental impact upon the character, landscape and visual quality of the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."
However, Mark Harding from Enviromena - who put in the plans for land near Maiden Newton - thinks the pros of the project will outweigh the cons.
He told us here at Hits Radio: "The positives that this project will bring - not just from an energy security perspective by providing green renewable energy - but also by bringing more jobs to the local area significantly outweigh the negative aspect of any visual impact on the area.
"Everyone this year has felt the pain of the cost of living and energy crisis we find ourselves in.
"Projects of this nature really reduce our reliance on external sources of energy.
"It is only projects like this that are really going to help us out of the problems we are facing at the moment."
We will know if this proposal has been approved after the vote at 2pm today.