A giant solar farm bigger than 50 football pitches which could power up to 5,200 homes a year could be built in Cheshire if revised plans get the go-ahead.
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee meets next week, and it is recommended to back a scheme for a 93-acre site in Tushingham.
The site spans agricultural land at Chads Farm on Barnhill Drive and would be designed to generate 15 megawatts (MW) – which could result in a reduction of 3,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in its first year – the equivalent of taking around 2,300 cars off the road each year.
The plan was revised due to peat deposits on in the fields
The current proposal – submitted by Renewable Connections Developments – is a revision of the scheme first put forward in 2022, that sets out to address the presence of deep peat deposits. Disturbing peat can cause ecological damage and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The main site comprises seven ‘medium scale’ fields. The majority of three fields would be used to accommodate solar panels with others retained for what the plans called ‘ecological enhancement’.
If approved, the solar farm would be operational for 40 years before being decommissioned and the land returned to agricultural use.
Tushingham, Macefen and Bradley Parish Council has objected, citing impact on a greenfield site, impact on the view from a nearby Grade 1 listed church, and what it said was ‘no mitigation’ for the visual impact it will have from the bridleway and byway that intersects the site.
A greenfield site but no alternatives were found
A report to the committee accepted that the site was on greenfield land in the countryside, but added:
“A number of potential alternative sites were considered within a 2km radius of the point of grid connection off the A41.
“These were not considered to be suitable alternative sites for a variety of reasons, not large enough to be viable, have an extant permission for industrial or residential development, or have significant planning and environmental constraints.
It is therefore accepted that no alternative previously developed sites are presently available.”
By Local Democracy Reporter Mark Smith.
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