Solar farm the size of 40 rugby pitches planned for North Nibley

Solar farm the size of 40 rugby pitches planned for North Nibley

Updated 3:10pm Thursday 10th July 2014 in News

SR_159_001 Angry residents on Stinchcombe Hill overlooking the possible site of a solar farm (8003054)

OVER 72,000 solar panels could be built on fields below Stinchcombe Hill if a planning application is approved but residents fear it will be a blot on the landscape.

Around 40 hectares of fields by Manor Farm in Upper Wick could be used for the massive solar farm, potentially producing up to 18megawatts, enough to power 2,000 homes.

On behalf of Upper Wick Solar Farm Ltd, planning consultants Maddox and Associates have submitted the application for the panels, which will reach 2.2metres in height and cover an area the size of almost 40 international rugby pitches.

A brief consultation was held on April 29 at North Nibley Village Hall but only received 29 visitors, with 21 rejecting the plan.

In response to the consultation, the three most easterly fields of the initial proposal have been removed, reducing the site size by 14.6 per cent.

No permanently switched on lighting is proposed and the solar farm will operate for 30 years before being dismantled and removed.

Sue Devine and her husband Iain have lived on Church Lane in North Nibley for 35 years and are adamant it is the wrong place for such a large-scale construction.

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Solar farm the size of 40 rugby pitches planned for North Nibley