Solar farm granted 15-year extension despite concerns

A solar farm has been granted a 15-year extension despite concerns it will impact the look of the neighbouring countryside.

The site in Northamptonshire, located on a field to the south of the Eckland Lodge Business Park between Braybrooke and Desborough, was originally granted a 25-year limited lifespan.

Despite concerns about the visual impact, North Northamptonshire Council's planning committee approved the extension.

It means the site will run until 2057, instead of 2042, at which point it will be decommissioned.

The site was first approved in 2015 and became operational two years later.

Eckland Lodge Business Park submitted plans for the extension with conditions that the land be reinstated when the site is decommissioned, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council's planning committee heard the original time limit was imposed as the operational life of the solar panels was incorrectly thought to have been around 25 years.

The applicant has now said that, with proper maintenance, the site could be operational for 40 years and that decommissioning it any earlier would be "wasteful".

However, Braybrooke Parish Council objected, saying that extending the life of the solar park would be a "material shift from temporary to long-term land use — prolonging a non-agricultural, industrialised visual character".

They also raised concerns that the extension could set an "unintended precedent" that long-term energy infrastructure is acceptable in rural locations.

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