Plans for solar farm on edge of Rotherham village scaled back
A SOLAR farm with a 40 year lifespan could be constructed on land at Aston in planers approve of the scheme.
The development would also have batteries to store energy, Rotherham Council has been told, with the footprint of the site reduced by a quarter from an initial proposal.
Developers now want to use 31 hectares land for the development which, they say, would include “many rows of solar arrays plant rooms housing electrical equipment” and more.
The site, to the north of the village, to be called the Piper Lane Solar Farm would be enclosed within a perimeter fence and be covered by CCTV.
The planning application fee alone is £79,290, according to documents submitted to Rotherham Council by ABEI Energy.
A public exhibition about the proposals was held in September last year and the company say they had sought to engage with parish councils, Rotherham councillors and the area’s MP.
Details about the site were sent to 650 addresses within a three kilometre radius of the site.
Almost 100 people attended the exhibition and issues raised included concerns about the loss of agricultural land, the potential visual impact of the development, the impact of noise and increased traffic, during construction and afterwards, as well as how it might affect the area’s ecology.
Half of those who attended said they were concerned about climate change, with the other half expressing a neutral stance, or disagreeing.
However, 60 per cent of people who answered said they disagreed that the site was appropriate to take a solar farm.
The same number disagreed that the site would make a positive contribution to local biodiversity.
Since that meeting, the scope of the site has been reduced, from the original proposal of 41 hectares, with some of the land remaining for arable use.
Under the proposals, access to the new site would be from Carr Lane and a public right of way which crosses the site would remain open while the site was being constructed, and during its operational life.
Existing trees and hedgerows you be “retained and enhanced to provide screening” according to the application.
A link to the national grid, to export the power generated, would be via a short overhead line.
A decision on the application will be made later.