Solar farm approved on Fylde / Preston border

A solar farm the size of almost 100 football pitches is to be installed on the border of Fylde and Preston.

The renewable energy scheme will stand on what is currently agricultural land just south of Clifton, after getting the green light from Fylde Council’s planning committee.

Part of the existing farming operation on the 69-hectare plot will continue, with sheep set to graze beneath raised solar panels.

It is expected that the Clifton Marsh Solar Farm, as it will be known, will generate enough electricity to power more than 14,000 homes a year, saving the equivalent of over 20,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide.

The facility – south of the A584 Preston New Road – will be operated by European energy firm Vattenfall and will function for 40 years before the site is restored solely to farming use.

Councillors on the committee unanimously approved the 50-megawatt project – subject to the imposition of 28 conditions – supporting a recommendation made by council planning officials who concluded that the benefits the installation would bring would “outweigh the harm”.

That harm included the acknowledged impact of the development on the sprawling plot and its rural surroundings.

Although made up of green fields, the site is not within the greenbelt – and Rob Buffham, Fylde Council’s planning case officer, told the committee that the site “isn’t in an isolated position”. He noted the presence of businesses and buildings in the vicinity which “diminish the importance” of the location’s countryside designation.

However, he acknowledged it was “inevitable” that the solar farm, which will take around 14 months to complete, would nevertheless “alter the appearance of the site to [make it]…more industrial in nature – and that will significantly impact upon the landscape character…of the surrounding area.”

The energy-generating operation will see rows of ‘photovoltaic arrays’, each 2.3 metres tall, sited across the plot.   A substation and associated kit – up to 7.4 metres in height – will also be required, along with seven, 2.9-metre transformers and two similarly-sized storage containers.   The location will be monitored by around 65 pole-mounted CCTV cameras, standing three metres off the ground.

One of the conditions of the permission granted is that the existing hedgerows on the site will be maintained at a minimum height of three metres – and Vattenfall has also provided a so-called ‘unilateral undertaking’ that will ensure the hedges surrounding the development, along Preston New Road, will be kept at least two metres tall.

Mr. Buffham said the resultant “screening” would mean that the effect on available views of the site from various approaches would be “minimal”.

However, committee member Cllr Sandra Pitman said that the additional planting that will be needed in order to plug gaps in that visual shield must not be allowed to be bland – and should create an interesting “mixture” for the benefit of both appearance and wildlife.

The meeting heard that officers would liaise with the applicant to ensure that the new hedgerows were “native” to the site.

Meanwhile, concerns were also raised over the the potential “cumulative” effect of the plans, in the event that other renewable energy projects in the area are given the go-ahead – including another solar farm proposed at nearby Newton-with-Scales and the controversial Morgan and Morecambe offshore windfarm project, whose on-shore cable corridor would connect to two substations close to the same village.

Committee member Cllr Martin Evans said it felt as though Fylde was “the epicentre of renewable energy with everything that we’re being hit with at the moment”.

“It’s hard to argue against the fact that the area is going to be significantly changed forever and become less rural and more industrial,” he said.

“There is undoubtedly a cumulative impact, in a detrimental way, on the residents of the area and…that shouldn’t be overlooked, because I think it does affect everybody’s way of life.”

Both Newton-with-Scales and Freckleton parish councils objected to the Clifton Marsh development on the grounds of the combined effect of the scheme with the other projects in the pipeline for the area.

However, Rob Buffham said his assessment was that there would not be any “inter-visibility” between Clifton Marsh and the potential neighbouring schemes, because the former was so “low-level and so well-screened”.

The committee also heard that Fylde’s own local plan is “highly supportive” of renewable energy, while the agricultural land on which the site will be developed – which is currently in use for both arable and livestock purposes – is not of the highest grade and will nevertheless continue to have an agricultural function during the lifetime of the solar farm.

‘Community will benefit’

Responding to the approval of permission for its project, Vattenfall said it was exploring the creation of a community fund “to deliver lasting benefits for local residents”.

Opportunities to support improvements to footpaths and invest in recreational projects, helping to enhance access and enjoyment of the local area, have already been highlighted, the firm said.

It added that the scheme had been “carefully designed…to ensure that it delivers biodiversity benefits by creating habitats which will support a wide variety of wildlife”.

“Grassland beneath the solar panels, combined with sheep grazing and improved drainage, will help reduce flood risk. In combination with habitat creation elsewhere on site, this will provide foraging and nesting opportunities for farmland bird species such as skylark and waders such as snipe.

“Native broadleaf tree planting and hedgerow and ditch enhancements will help to link habitats together across the site for the benefit of many bird, mammal, amphibian and invertebrate species,” the company claimed.

Emma Metcalfe, project manager for the Clifton Marsh Solar Farm project, said it presented “a fantastic opportunity” all round.

“Solar power is cheap, low carbon, and reliable, and helps make Britain’s energy system more secure while stabilising costs for bill-payers.

“We look forward to working closely with the community as the project progresses and continuing discussions on initiatives that bring lasting benefits for local people, Ms. Metcalfe added.