Plans approved for major new solar farm near Scarborough
It'll see a 28.5 hectare solar farm on undeveloped land off Stoney Haggs Road in Seamer
Scarborough Council has approved plans for a major new solar farm project to be located in the borough.
The project was approved by Scarborough Council on Monday 11 July and it will allow Voltalia UK Ltd to progress with its plans for a large-scale solar farm.
The project will see a 28.5 hectare solar farm – equivalent to the size of approximately 50 football pitches – located on undeveloped land off Stoney Haggs Road, Seamer.
According to Voltalia, a French renewable energy company, the solar farm could generate enough energy to provide electricity to meet the demand of up to 9,600 homes.
As each megawatt (MW) of output can power around 300 homes, this could result in savings of over 13,500 tonnes of CO2 per year, based on data from the Solar Trade Association.
“The most dominant feature of the development would be the solar panels which would be repeated in rows or arrays, individually up to 380m in length”, according to a report by Scarborough Council.
“It is the intention that the solar panels and associated equipment would be ‘temporary’, remaining in situ for 35 years following the site becoming operational”, the report adds.
The electricity would be fed into the national grid rather than providing power directly to local homes and businesses.
Of the 87 residents who provided feedback on the plans, 68 were in favour of the proposal while eight objected and seven were “neutral”.
“Some negative visual impact”
Many of the objections raised by members of the public addressed concerns about the solar farm’s impact on natural views, the surrounding ecology including trees and soil, as well as possible “glare” from the solar panels affecting drivers.
However, the council has set conditions for the approval of the plans, which include a clause that there will be no loss of trees or hedgerows, while also noting that less than two per cent of the land is classed as “best and most suitable” for agricultural purposes.
Council officers said concerns about views and ecology “need to be balanced against the substantial amount of planting to be provided on-site, so it is not a significant concern.”
They added: “It is fair to say that any large-scale solar farm project in the borough would have some negative visual impact. There may be wider flat landscapes elsewhere in the country where planting might be able to negate adverse impacts.”
Subject to conditions, no objections were received from the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, the Parks & Countryside Service, nor the Ministry of Defence or GCHQ Scarborough, both of which have signals intelligence bases in the vicinity of the area.
Although a geophysical survey indicated archaeological features in the area, including a potential Neolithic henge, Bronze Age burial mounds, and an Iron Age square barrow, following the completion of trial trenching the applicants amended the plan to avoid “key areas of interest”.
Impact on climate change
Many of the supporting arguments put forth by the developer cited the council’s 2019 declaration of a climate emergency and the need to reduce carbon emissions.
The council’s report states that “documents submitted with the application make much of national, international and local commitments to reducing the impact of climate change and increasing the supply of energy from renewable and low carbon sources.”
“This includes the government’s net-zero target of a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared to 1990.”
However, one public objector said: “If the council has a climate emergency target, a brownfield site should have been identified away from houses.”
Some bungalows would be “50 metres at closest” to the arrays while a dwelling at Eastgate House would be 325m away.
The council said that other potential sites would have had a greater impact on the visual and natural environment.
Several conditions were set by the council and must be met for the development to go ahead.
These include requirements to protect surrounding nature, limiting the project to a period of 35 years from the date of the development becoming operational, and having to seek further advice from the planning authority starting “in the first year of operation”.