Solar farm on land between Sedgeford and Snettisham is up for approval at West Norfolk Council planning committee

A solar farm which could power more than 3,000 homes per year may be given a seal of approval next week.

Plans to construct the 21 megawatt farm on land at Sedgeford Hall Estate, within both Sedgeford and Snettisham, will go before West Norfolk Council’s planning committee on Monday (October 3).

It has been proposed by Regener8 Power, who want to build approximately 31,800 ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels, containerised batteries and other infrastructure.

Based on the mean annual electricity consumption in West Norfolk households, the solar farm is expected to be able to power roughly 3,500 homes a year.

The majority of the land is currently used for crop cultivation, while a south western field houses free range pigs.

Prior to the planning committee’s meeting, a few concerns have been raised regarding the use of farming land for the project.

Environmental group CPRE Norfolk has said that although it generally supports solar generation of electricity, it does not believe this should be done at the expense of “food-producing, attractive countryside”.

In a planning report in which the group objects to the plans, a statement said: “The cumulative effect of increasing numbers of solar farms in the area should be recognised, as increasing amounts of land used for food production is being lost.”

It adds: “The proposal would alter the intrinsic character of the countryside through the imposition of solar arrays and several alien structures.”

The group also suggested there is enough south-facing roof space in the UK to satisfy solar panel needs.

Sedgeford Parish Council also said it would rather see solar panels fitted on rooftops than on fields, but provided no objection in advance of the meeting.

A statement from councillors said: “We acknowledge that this particular site is fairly well screened and that the electricity produced could be fed into the National Grid relatively easily.”

However, few other complaints have been raised by the bodies consulted during the application process – and planning officers have recommended that the solar farm be approved.

It has been referred to the council’s planning committee by Cllr Terry Parish due to the operational area of the site being larger than one hectare. It lies roughly 1.65km south of Sedgeford, 2.6km east of Snettisham and 1.2km west of Fring.

If approved, construction is expected to take around six months. The lifetime of the development would then be approximately 40 years after its first use.

No panel would be installed higher than three metres off the ground – and a Glint and Glare Study has concluded there will be no significant impact on drivers when the sun reflects off the solar panels.

The National Air Traffic Services, as well as Norwich Airport, have raised no concerns regarding air safety.

The planning report concluded that “the benefits of providing renewable energy outweigh any harm”.

Councillors will meet at 9.30am on Monday to discuss the solar farm proposal.