Plans submitted for a second solar farm at Mansfield Woodhouse

A planning application for a solar energy farm on 11.62 hectares of farmland to the east of Littlewood Lane has been received by Mansfield District Council.

The solar development proposed by Milgate 64 Ltd lodged on August 18 is for a 30 year period and would generate up to five megawatts of electricity.

If approved it will see 20,000 solar panels installed with anciliary buildings, security fencing, CCTV, access tracks and landscaping.

Leaflets about the proposed scheme have been distributed to 300 houses in the area and posters mounted on the entrance to Littlewood Lane to advise people who use the area for recreation.

The array features 20,000 panels mounted on metal frames and set into the ground, tilted south at approximately 25 degrees. It would produce 5MW of power enough to power 1,350 typical homes per year, saving more than 2,350 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year in emissions.

A report presented to the council concluded that effects associated with the farm would be limited to its relatively short construction period of 8-12 weeks. It said the effects of the solar panels will be ‘negligible’ and primarily contained within the site.

The life of the solar installation is around 30 years decommissioned and the land returned to its original condition.

The land is described as some of the poorer farmland in the district, with no protected landscapes or nature conservation areas nearby.

Milgate 64 Ltd submitted plans for a similar solar farm on farmland off Debdale Lane Mansfield Woodhouse in July, on a 28-acre site close to Burlington Drive and Oxclose Wood. The company says the panels would be visible from a ‘limited number of locations’. A statement on behalf of the company reads: “The community is affected only by the construction of the panels and any visual impact, post installation. There are few sites left in the country where there is grid capacity to develop solar and where they can be developed without causing unacceptable visual impact – the land north of Debdale Lane is both grid connected and relatively well concealed.”

A public exhibition was held at the Civic Centre in June, and the company says the plans were supported by residents.