A huge solar farm near the beautification site is getting final approval

A 100-acre solar farm has been approved, which is on the M69 near a beauty spot in Leicestershire. The scheme is for two patches of land off Burbage Common, close to Hinckley, and is in two council areas.

The majority of the farm will be on Blaby District Council land, with the remainder under the jurisdiction of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Blaby approved his part of the scheme at a planning committee meeting in April, while planning officers Hinckley and Bosworth have now given the final vote.

The farm, made by Elgin Energy EsCo, will generate up to 20 megawatts of power, enough to power between 8,000 and 18,000 homes, depending on the time of year, the company said. Access to the farm will be via Lynchgate Lane, Aston Flamville. However, Burbage Parish Council had concerns about the safety of the motorway as the area is “a popular walking and horse riding route”.

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The parish council said it was “highly likely that pedestrians, horse riders and other road users could find themselves in conflict with construction traffic during the works”. Of particular concern were cars parked outside St Peter’s Church, in Aston Flamville, which could cause “passing vehicles to move onto the carriageway, presenting a potential risk to oncoming traffic”. “Heavy construction traffic will exacerbate this situation,” the council added.

But while the highways authority acknowledged the parish council’s road safety concerns, it said its analysis concluded that “the impacts of the development on highway safety would not be unacceptable and when considered cumulatively with other developments, the impacts on road network would not be unacceptable. be severe”.

Planning officers Hinckley and Bosworth said the scheme would provide a number of benefits in addition to renewable energy production, including “new hedges and trees, areas of grassland and new grassland habitats under the solar panels”. It said highway concerns “can be addressed”. The council’s planning team approved the scheme under delegated authority, which allows officers to make some planning decisions on behalf of councillors.

Blaby’s planning team received 30 objections to the farm, citing concerns about the impact on “historic milking parlors”, motorway fears, the impact on local views and potential damage to wildlife, among other issues. Council planning officers have recommended that the scheme be approved, before a decision is made at a meeting of the authority’s planning committee on Thursday, April 11 this year.

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