Brafferton solar farm to power 8,000 homes plan approved

Councillors supported the planned farm near Brafferton but rejected one at Sheraton

Plans for a £20m solar farm which it is claimed will produce enough energy to power 8,000 homes have been approved.

Durham County Council was told Lightrock Power's farm, near Brafferton and Newton Aycliffe, would save 12,600 tonnes of CO2 a year.

The farm would be removed after 40 years, the council's planning committee was told.

Plans for a similar farm at Sheraton village, near Hartlepool, were rejected amid fears it would harm the landscape.

Both plans had been recommended for approval by the council's planning department, although both were objected to by the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) which opposed the loss of agricultural land.

'Industrial wasteland'

Senior planning officer Claire Teasdale said harm to the local landscape's character and quality near Brafferton would not be substantial, with much of the 42-hectare site screened from view.

The Sheraton plan attracted objections from residents and councillors who were concerned it would turn an area of beautiful countryside into an "industrial wasteland", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Councillor Cathy Hunt, who had spoken against the Sheraton solar farm because of its harmful effect on the landscape, supported the Brafferton scheme.

She said: "With the benefit of a site visit, I do agree that this area is good."