Football club submits application for solar farm

Sunderland AFC has stated it wants to be one of the first net zero clubs in the country

A football club has submitted an application for a solar farm.

If approved, it will be constructed on a 48-hectare (118-acre) site to the east and west of Sunderland AFC's training centre near Cleadon Village, South Tyneside.

The plans include a substation, transformer stations, switch rooms, security fencing, access gates, and biodiversity enhancements, such as improvements to hedgerows.

In a statement, the club said the application was a step towards "becoming one of the first net zero clubs in the United Kingdom".

Documents submitted to South Tyneside Council say planning permission is being sought for a "30-year period from the date of first exportation of energy from the solar farm", after which "the site will be reinstated to agricultural land", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The application acknowledges "harm to the greenbelt" but says there are no alternative sites

The application also said the solar farm would provide a "valuable contribution to tackling the effects of climate change" and would include "the potential to provide clean energy for up to 9,700 average-sized homes in South Tyneside and offset the CO2 emissions of approximately 3,700 residents".

The proposals included a "community benefits package" totalling £15,000 per year throughout the solar farm’s lifetime, which would all be invested into South Tyneside charities.

The application does acknowledge "harm to the greenbelt" but adds "there are no alternative sites within South Tyneside which could provide the same capacity in terms of renewable energy generation from solar".

A decision on the planning application is expected once a period of council consultation has concluded.