Major village solar farm plan rejected

Plans for a solar farm and battery storage system in a Nottinghamshire village have been rejected.

The application for the 65-acre site on land in Main Road, Kelham, near Newark, was decided at a Newark and Sherwood District Council meeting on Thursday.

Councillors objected to the plans because of a loss of agricultural land, an increased risk of flooding on nearby roads and the fact there are already two other solar farms approved nearby.

The applicant, Assured Asset Solar 2 Limited, has the right to appeal the decision, the council said.

The proposed solar farm, which would have had a lifespan of 40 years, would have generated enough "green" electricity to power more than 12,600 homes per year and offset approximately 13,400 tonnes of CO2 every year, the applicant said.

It added the system would have connected to Staythorpe Substation, located 1.4km (0.8m) to the south of the site.

Due to the quality of the agricultural land, all equipment would have been removed from the site and the land returned to its "former condition" after the 40 year lifespan.

Averham, Kelham and Staythorpe Parish Council officials said they "understood the need" for renewable energy but did not believe this should be at the expense of the open countryside when "other brown field or previously developed site are available".

David Moore, vice chair of the district council's planning committee, said: "Councillors on the planning committee refused the application on the basis of loss of best and most versatile agricultural land, industrialisation/cumulative impact of solar in the landscape and adverse impact on heritage assets."

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