Landfill to become ecopark with 4,000 solar panels

James Clifford is the business development director at constructors Harvest Green Developments Ltd

Construction is under way to transform a landfill site into an "ecopark", which could power up to 2,500 homes annually.

It will include 4,000 solar panels that produce "green and cheaper electricity" for Gloucester, said developers.

The 360-acre site at Hempsted, owned by Enovert, will also feature a biomass generator and a woodland with 100,000 trees of different species.

Enovert regional manager Graeme Buckman said: "We're trying to turn this space into something useful, as well as helping to achieve a net-zero carbon objective."

The solar development is expected to open in early 2025.

Its estimated lifespan is 25 years, after which the park can be dismantled, the components recycled, and the site restored for other uses.

The site at Hempsted will be transformed into an ecopark with 4,000 solar panels

Mr Buckman told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "This is part of the Hempstead landfill restoration that we're putting together.

"We're right on Gloucester's doorstep - it makes sense to have [solar energy] available.

"The site will be here for a long time and we have to look after it for a long time."

Graeme Buckman is the Regional Manager of Enovert

Construction company Harvest Green Developments has now moved on to the site, which stretches from Llanthony Road to the River Severn.

Its business development director James Clifford said: "There is a big demand in electricity so we will see good growth in that area and hopefully bring people's bills down as well because the main effort of this is to produce clean, green cheaper electricity."

"The good thing about this site at Hempstead is that you cannot use this site for much else - you can't build new homes or a business park."