Solar farm planned to power 16,600 Shropshire homes

The proposed 49MW solar farm could power 16,600 homes annually, a report for Shropshire Council said

A solar farm which could power 16,600 homes annually is being planned for a disused airfield in Shropshire.

The proposed 49MW installation would be built on 52 hectares (128 acres) of land at the site in Eaton Upon Tern, near Market Drayton.

Two parish councils have objected to the proposals and raised concerns which include its impact on the landscape.

The plans have been recommended for approval when they are discussed by councillors on Tuesday.

An array of panels would be in place for up to 40 years and then the land would be returned to agricultural use, the applicant, Eaton-Upon-Tern Solar Ltd, said.

Power village halls

Objections from Stoke Upon Tern and Childs Ercall parish councils also include concerns about potential contamination of the local water supply and the proximity of the panels to homes.

They also jointly said they wanted a condition added to benefit the community, such as an agreement for the solar panels to power their village halls, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The company said it had made changes to its plans following a community meeting which included more screening of the site and changes to the route construction traffic would take.

Shropshire Council's climate change taskforce has backed the plans as it said it would help the county head towards becoming self-sufficient in renewable energy.

A report by planning officials for the authority said there would be a temporary loss of agricultural land but the benefits outweighed this.