Gull-shaped solar panels set for hospital car park

The solar panels will be installed outside Telford's Princess Royal Hospital

"Gull wing-shaped" solar panels could appear above cars parked at a Shropshire hospital as part of a £17m green projects scheme.

The solar panels, at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, would contribute to Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's plan to save £1m a year in energy costs and reduce carbon emissions by more than 3,000 tonnes, say bosses.

Planning agent ZLC Energy has provided council planners with technical drawings and information on the panels. They have been tested to cope with wind and snow.

In planning documents, the agents said the structures will be metal framed canopy structures with single posts down the centre of the double parking spaces.

The agent also said the panels will be sited on the car park to the northwest of the hospital where the closest neighbour is Severn Hospice.

'Significant energy savings'

Earlier this week, the trust said it had submitted a funding bid to install solar panels and LED lighting at Princess Royal Hospital.

It said that one of the benefits will be to save on running costs allowing it to release more resources into front line care.

Inese Robotham, assistant chief executive and chair of the trust's climate change group, said: "The funding will deliver significant reductions in our energy costs, and savings can then be redirected into frontline care.

"When the work is complete, the investment could save an estimated £1m a year in energy costs and will reduce emissions by over 3,000 tonnes of carbon each year."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.