'Solar farm plan doesn't feel like it is right for us'

> Green belt land between Chopwell and Greenside in Gateshead

- DANIEL HOLLAND

HUNDREDS of locals are opposing plans for a new solar farm in the Gateshead countryside.

Exagen is hoping to build a major solar energy site across 273 acres of green belt land between Greenside, Coalburns and Chopwell.

Ahead of Gateshead Council making a decision on whether the proposals can go ahead, 106 people have lodged formal objections against the scheme - with more than 450 also signing a petition organised by Our Greenside Matters.

Members of the community group told The Journal that they were not opposed to renewable energy and did not want to be seen as NIMBYs, but feared that the development could have a devastating impact on their picturesque villages.

A spokesperson for the Our Greenside Matters group said the scale of the solar farm is “not what they [Exagen] were trying to sell us on” when the project first began to emerge in 2023.

They added: “It is not a few panels on a field that no-one will see, it comes right up to people’s boundaries. A whole load of serious groundworks are involved too.

“There is also the perimeter fencing, CCTV, lights... this is a low light pollution area, that is what we are used to in this area. We see all the stars and auroras here.”