Solar farm plans approved by Leicestershire councillors

The solar farm will be made up of panels set into frames above the ground

A solar farm the size of 30 football pitches has been approved for development in Leicestershire.

The 22.3-hectare (55-acre) site will be built in countryside on the outskirts of Quorn.

It will generate 9,170 megawatt hours of renewable electricity a year, enough to power more than 3,000 homes.

The plans were approved by the county council on Thursday subject to conditions, including the adoption of a biodiversity management plan.

The solar farm will be made up of panels set into frames above the ground to protect them from flooding.

Underground cabling will attach the solar arrays to inverters and a substation.

Four trees and six sections of hedgerow will need to be removed to accommodate the farm.

Animals will continue to graze on the site once the solar farm is built.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the council previously proposed a larger solar farm along with a number of industrial units, but this application was withdrawn.

'Improve the area'

Planning permission has been approved for 40 years, after which the solar farm will be dismantled.

Hilary Fryer, who represents Quorn and Barrow upon Soar, said: "I think it's a very good use of county council land.

"It's not withdrawing any of the access from the public rights of way.

"It will maintain and improve some of the areas there."

The application was passed on the condition of a biodiversity management plan.

This includes proposals for new woodland, hedgerows and wildflower meadows, and the creation of new ponds and an area of marshy grassland.

Nesting and hibernation boxes for bats, birds and hedgehogs will also be installed.