Up to 6.25 square miles of the Great North Road Solar Park development could potentially be made available for sheep grazing
The developers of the biggest solar farm proposed in the UK are seeking to win over local opposition by allowing thousands of sheep to graze under the panels.
Plans for a solar farm near Newark, Nottinghamshire, covering the area of a town the size of Stevenage are set to trigger the Government’s biggest anti-Nimby battle yet, with many residents angered at its size and likely impact on the countryside.
The Great North Road Solar Park development would take up an area of more than 11 sq miles and be more than twice as big as the largest UK solar farm approved to date. It would generate enough electricity for 400,000 homes.
Developers hope to make the project more palatable to locals by including a range of measures to boost wildlife round the site.
These include the planting of approximately 50,000 trees, the addition of approximately 46 kilometres of hedgerows and plans for the creation of 19 permissive routes through the solar park site to provide improved access.
But perhaps the most significant measure will see up to 4,000 sheep introduced to the site from 2027, when construction begins.
Read more: Independent
