Horncastle: Divisive solar farm plan recommended for approval

The earmarked site for the solar farm is adjacent to Sotby Woods on Sturton Road, Hatton

Divisive plans for a solar farm near Horncastle which could power 21,000 homes a year have been recommended for approval.

Renewable energy developer Push Energy submitted plans to East Lindsey District Council for land adjacent to Sotby Woods on Sturton Road, Hatton.

The farm hopes to produce around 49.99MW for about 40 years.

More than 200 people wrote to the local authority, with 108 letters of support and 94 letters objecting to the plan.

Hatton and Baumber parish councils lodged concerns around the loss of agricultural land, the impact on the landscape, the transport infrastructure and a lack of consultation and information.

Some departments at Lincolnshire County Council also objected, citing "impact on food security and the local rural economy".

Council officers have called for bridleways and footpaths across the land to be protected.

The developers said the solar farm would help meet net zero carbon emissions targets and enhance biodiversity.

Recommending approval, planning officers said that both national and local policies supported the principle of renewable energy.

"Whilst it does involve the loss of prime agricultural land for a period of 40 years, this does not equate to grounds for refusal because the benefits of the scheme and the wider policy support outweigh this," they said.