Solar farm to be operational from mid-September

The plans for the farm were approved last September

A £2.8m solar farm built to help offset a council's carbon emissions will be operational later in the year.

The 2MW solar farm at Sandscale Park in Barrow is being built by Westmorland and Furness Council.

The local authority had previously said the project could provide enough electricity to power its five leisure centres or 730 homes a year.

Officials said the panels would be operational from 19 September in a council meeting on Monday.

The project, which was approved last September, is being built on a council-owned field which is of poor agricultural quality, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Jarvis previously said: "This is about us making the best use of our assets".

The solar farm, which covers an area of approximately 11.9 hectares (29 acres), is part of the council's plans to become net zero.