Locals fight on to stop solar panel farm plans

LOCALS trying to stop a new solar farm being built in the Gateshead countryside say they have not given up the fight.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Councillors gave their backing earlier this month for a major new solar park to be installed across 30 fields between Greenside, Coalburns, and Chopwell.

Approval for the panels was granted by Gateshead Council's planning committee despite hundreds of objections from residents, though the application could yet be ‘called in’ for a final decision by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government because of the scale of its impact on the Green Belt.

Members of the Our Greenside Matters campaign, which has rallied opposition to the project known as the Greenhead Energy Park, have confirmed that they are now seeking legal advice and have launched an online fundraiser to help for a potential appeal against renewable energy firm Exagen’s scheme.

They have argued that the project, split across more than 270 acres of land on two separate sites off Lead Road, risks spoiling the picturesque countryside, endangering local wildlife, and bringing light and noise pollution to the villages.