Doubts have been raised about what benefits a vast new solar farm planned for part of Nottinghamshire will bring to the local area.
Great North Road Solar Park is proposed for land north-west of Newark, between the A1 and A617.
In total, it would cover 1,600 hectares of land – the equivalent of around 3,000 football pitches.
Elements Green, the developer behind the project, says it would power around 400,000 homes and prevent the release of around 250,000 tonnes of CO₂.
A public consultation is currently under way, having begun on 9 January this year and expected to end on 20 February.
Simon Betts, Newark and Sherwood District Council’s Lead Planning Officer, presented an update on the project’s progress at a planning committee meeting on Thursday, 13 February.
The official planning application for the project is expected to be submitted in August this year to the council – although the Government will have the final say because of the scale of the project and its potential importance to national energy.
Mr Betts said the consultation was a “key milestone” for the pre-application stage.
Once the official planning application is submitted in August, a decision-making body will take control and ownership of the project, he said.
A Government planning inspector will administer the application and make recommendations to the Secretary of State for Energy, Claire Coutinho, who will have the final say, rather than Newark and Sherwood District Council.
Cllr Simon Forde (Ind), the Portfolio Holder for Climate and the Environment, said the project would bring immense benefit to the county – but raised concerns over whether the town would be compensated through continued investment in other projects, such as flood prevention measures.
He said: “I’m concerned that we in this area are acting as a host for the nation’s energy supplies, just like we previously did with coal.
“And the whole country would benefit from this, and I’m nervous about us simply being a host for the benefit of others – and what the benefit is for us.”
He added: “The huge amount of loss of amenity [for locals], this is a 40-year project.
“What really concerns me is what will be done in the next 40 years for water management and flood resilience?
“There is huge national benefit [to the solar farm].
“[But] they’re trying to buy us off with trinkets, but what we really need in this area is huge investment over a 40-year period to improve our water structure.
“Is that possible? We’re losing a lot of amenity, and we’re hosting a national project.
“We need a decent payback.”
Matt Lamb, Director for Planning and Growth at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “As a planning authority, Simon will have all this information, work with relevant professionals, and set out whether we think mitigation is required that mitigates the impacts of the developments.”
The huge solar farm, which could power the equivalent of every home in Nottinghamshire, involves a ring of panel developments approximately four miles wide and built close to the villages of Maplebeck, Ossington, and North Muskham.
The village of Caunton would be encircled by land designated for panels or ‘cable, access, and potential enhancement areas’.
The scale of the energy production means it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, meaning the Government, rather than the local council, has the final say.
Construction is expected to start as soon as 2027.
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