Land for travellers' site could become solar farm

The company proposing the solar farm said its plans were 'fully reversible' meaning the site could be returned to its original state

Land set aside for a travellers' site could be turned into a solar farm under new proposals.

A new off-road accommodation site for the "non-bricks and mortar" community in and around Glastonbury had been planned as part of the £23.6m town deal funded by central government.

Somerset Council put forward plans in mid-2023 to create the site on land it owned north of Porchestall Drove, but these were scrapped in July after the site "turned into a lake" twice in the space of one winter.

Now local energy company Avalon Community Energy has submitted initial proposals for a solar farm there instead, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Biodiversity addressed

Under the initial proposals, known as a screening request, about 1.2 hectares (3 acres) of land would be covered in ground-mounted solar panels – which between them would generate power for the equivalent of just under 500 homes, the proposals said.

The land between the new panels and the road would be set aside for biodiversity net gain, with a new access track being put in place at the eastern edge of the site, they added.

Avalon Community Energy has been involved in the Glastonbury town deal since its inception, with £2.8m being committed to delivering clean energy projects across the town – including a ground-mounted solar farm and installing solar panels on the roofs of commercial buildings in the Beckery area.

A spokesman for RenewEV, representing the applicant, said: "As a community-owned asset, the solar farm will generate electricity, with any surpluses being recycled back into the community through a community benefit fund.

"It is the client's intention to sell the electricity produced to the local community via a local supply scheme.

"The typical operational lifespan of the solar PV is 30 years. The site will be insured appropriate to industry standards.

"At the end of the life of the project, the site will be restored back to its former state.

"The proposal is fully reversible so that any visual impacts are temporary in nature and the land can be restored following relatively minor decommissioning works."

'Not easy work'

Following the approval of the screening request, Avalon Community Energy is expected to submit a formal planning application in January 2025, with a decision being expected from the council by the summer.

Council deputy leader Liz Leyshon stated in July that town deal funding would be used to purchase alternative land elsewhere in the town for gypsy and traveller accommodation.

She said: "Hopefully, the first piece of land is in the final stages of purchase and then we'll be looking at what we can do there. It's really not easy work, it's fair to say.

"Everybody I speak to in Glastonbury says; "We need a travellers' site,' and then they go on to say: 'But not here.'

"That is, I'm afraid, not specific just to Glastonbury."