The Site and Location

The solar park is proposed within an overall site of around 34ha. Most of the land is classified as being of moderate quality for agricultural use, with limitations that affect the amount and choice of crops that can be grown. The site is largely free of any built development, with overhead power lines running through it. It is largely enclosed by boundary features in the form of trees and hedgerows and is bound by Hospital Lane to the south, Queens Road to the north, and a public footpath running along, and beyond, its eastern boundary.

The site is within close proximity of the existing Blucher electricity substation to the east. Such proximity to a substation with capacity to receive and export the electricity into the Grid provides a valuable opportunity to contribute a significant amount of renewable energy into the country’s energy supply.

Alternative locations for connecting a solar park to the Blucher substation have been considered and discounted by Northumberland Estates because they are no more suitable for the scheme than this land. The forthcoming planning application will be accompanied by an ‘Alternative Site Assessment’ to demonstrate this. The application will also set out the ‘Very Special Circumstances’ for the proposed renewable energy development to be situated within this Green Belt location.