'No guarantee' of solar park's £1m a year community fund

CONCERN THAT ENERGY DEVELOPER'S PLEDGE FALLS OUTSIDE OF PLANNING DECISION

- By JOE LOCKER

THERE is no guarantee the developer of a solar farm spanning miles of countryside will provide a £1m fund to offset any impacts, councillors have been told.

Renewable energy developer Elements Green wants to build the Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park in an area northwest of Newark.

Around 1.5 million solar panels would form a ring roughly 6.2 miles from north to south around the villages of Bathley, Caunton and Norwell.

They would have the potential to power up to 400,000 homes - more than the entire number of domestic houses in Nottinghamshire.

At a Newark and Sherwood District Council planning meeting on Thursday, the authority discussed its local impact report which details specific and direct negative consequences of the scheme. To reduce the impact of the scheme, the developer has proposed to create an annual “circa £1m community support scheme”, under which projects benefiting the local community could be delivered.

However, councillors were informed that, should the solar park be approved, there would be no obligation on the developer to provide the funding.