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A solar farm that would cover an area equivalent to almost 100 football pitches could be set to spring up on the border of Fylde and Preston.
Plans have been lodged for the 68.7-hectare green energy scheme on agricultural land between Clifton and Freckleton.
The Clifton Marsh Solar Development, as it has been titled, would sit on the southern side of the A584 Lytham Road – running from the busy junction with the A583 Blackpool Road to just past the Clifton Business Park.
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According to planning documents submitted to Fylde Council, in whose area the site lies, the electricity generated by the 50-megawatt project would power a typical 14,100 homes per year – saving over 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The intention is for sheep to continue to graze beneath the elevated solar panels that would cover much of the plot at a height above ground level of between 0.75 metres and 2.67 metres.
If approved, the development could be delivered in as little as nine months and would have a lifespan of 40 years – after which it would be dismantled and the land restored.
Vattenfall, the energy company behind the plans, says it selected the proposed location because it was one of the few in the area that was suitable for connection to the electricity grid. The possibility of developing a wind farm on the site was ruled out because its appearance, amongst other considerations, would likely have made it “unacceptable”.
A landscape and visual impact assessment accompanying the application acknowledges the potential for “a major/moderate adverse…effect on the landscape character of the site” – but stresses the “highly localised” nature where that would be felt.
It is claimed that “no significant visual effects” would arise for residents along the eastern edge of Freckleton, a mile to the west, as a result both of the distance and intervening “hedgerow and tree screening”.
The report notes that the layout of the site would allow for the retention of most of its existing landscape features, while there would also be additional planting and areas tailored for birds as part of a requirement to increase the biodiversity of the land by 10 percent following the development.
Extolling the benefits of its proposal, Vattenfall says the solar farm would “increase energy security, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hit local and national targets”.
However, Lancashire County Council has objected to the plans in its capacity as lead local flood authority, after concluding that the surface water drainage strategy for the site was “inadequate”. County Hall has requested a new assessment be submitted to address the “deficiencies” it has identified with the current one.
Separately, Preston City Council has been asked to make an initial judgement on the environmental impact of a proposed 20-hectare solar development at Lower House Farm, off Lewth Lane. north west of Woodplumpton.
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