Solar farm near to Yorkshire Sculpture Park and historic villages set for approval
Wakefield Council are poised to approve the scheme, which includes installing solar panels at two sites near to Woolley and Haigh
Plans to build a solar farm across 55 hectares of open countryside near to Yorkshire Sculpture Park and two rural villages look set to be approved.
Wakefield Council officers have recommended the scheme, which includes installing solar panels at two sites near to Woolley and Haigh, be given the go-ahead.
One of the sites is off Haigh Lane, near to the M1 motorway and around 500m from the tourist attraction.
A second 23-hectare site, made up of fields next to Woolley Edge Lane, Middle Field Lane and Gypsy Lane, is 475m from the Woolley conservation area.
A report to the council’s planning and highways committee said the solar farm would be visible from parts of the sculpture park and the Grade-II registered landscape at Bretton Park, a designated heritage asset of national importance.
Applicant Boom Power said the project would produce enough renewable energy to power 11,700 family homes a year.
The scheme, which would be in place for up to 40 years, includes installing solar panels up to 2.8m in height.
The plan also includes laying an underground cable from the solar farm to a substation at Woolley Grange to connect to the National Grid.
Both sites would be bounded by 2m-high fencing and protected by a CCTV system.
The council has received 172 objections from residents opposed to the scheme.
Those against the plan have cited the detrimental impact development could have on “uniquely picturesque” surroundings.
Other concerns include the potential loss of wildlife habitats, loss of agricultural land and a flood risk being created.
Calls have also been made for the solar farm to be situated at a brownfield site within the district.
Woolley Parish Council said the proposal could “impact dwellings in the local area” and have an “unacceptable impact on landscape character.”
A total of 35 comments of support have been made in favour of the proposal.
Supporters said the facility would “sit comfortably within the application site and wider landscape” and “help to provide a more stable price for energy in the country.”
A planning officer’s report acknowledged that the scheme would “cause harm” to nearby heritage assets, but added: “The public benefits of providing renewable energy that could power appropriately 11,700 homes and save 7,300 tonnes of Co2 is considered to outweigh this harm.”
The report adds: “The harm would be reversible due to the nature of the development, where the panels are sited on top of frames that are driven into the ground, rather than requiring concrete foundations.
“The harm, therefore, would be relatively easy to reverse, though would be present over a prolonged period of 40 years.”
In 2023, a request for a screening opinion for the project was submitted to the council on behalf of the applicant.
A screening opinion indicates to developers how likely an environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be needed before a formal planning application is submitted.
The local authority has said the scheme is “not considered to be an EIA development”.
The company said: “The proposed development would respond to the government’s support for solar energy by providing a greater renewable energy supply that would reduce carbon emissions and assist in establishing a diversity of energy sources in the UK.
“The biodiversity of the site could also be significantly improved.”
Last month, Boom Power’s plans for a solar farm within the same council ward, near to the villages Middlestown, Overton and Netherton, was given the go-ahead following a public inquiry.
A planning inspector ruled that the project could go-ahead despite the council’s decision to reject it last year.
Planning originally refused the scheme, saying it would harm the rural setting of the area.
The council’s planning and highways committee will consider the application at a meeting on July 17.