Controversial bid for solar farm to power 11,000 homes refused

Controversial plans for a solar farm on the outskirts of Sunderland have been thrown out at appeal by a Government-appointed planning inspector, after being labelled "inappropriate development in the Green Belt".

- by Chris Binding

Land to the north east of Springwell, Sunderland, where the solar farm was planned.

Sunderland City Council's Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting earlier this year, voted to block plans for land at Usworth House Farm to the north east of Springwell Village.

The site comprises a number of agricultural fields and sits within the Green Belt near the urban edge of Gateshead.

Proposals from applicant Boom Power Ltd aimed to use the site for the generation of renewable energy by installing “ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays” together with associated infrastructure.

Plans included around 59,319 solar PV panels and PV modules mounted on metal racks and laid out in multiple arrays, along with a substation compound housing “transformer and switchgear infrastructure and tower structures.”

According to a design and access statement from the applicant, the solar farm would have provided an output of up to 27.3 MW and could “generate clean renewable energy for the equivalent of more than 11,000 homes a year”.