Solar farm near sculpture park not likely to harm environment - council

A proposed solar farm to be built near the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is not likely to have a significant impact on the environment, according to a report.

Boom Power wants to install solar panels on 125 acres across two sites close to the park near Wakefield, and at Woolley village.

The firm asked Wakefield Council if an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was needed before submitting plans.

The council said it would not be considered an "EIA development".

Boom Power's plans would see panels installed on a 70-acre field off Haigh Lane, near the M1, and on a 55-acre site next to Woolley Edge Lane, Middle Field Lane and Gypsy Lane.

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is located about a third of a mile (500m) from the Haigh Lane site, while the second site is located a similar distance from the Woolley Conservation Area.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the scheme would be in place for up to 40 years and includes solar panels of up to 9ft (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.

The sites would be surrounded by fencing and protected by CCTV.

Boom Power asked the council for an opinion on the need for a EIA ahead of a planning application.

The council said the scheme was "not considered to be an EIA development" and was not in a "sensitive area" as defined by the EIA regulations.

A report said: "The development described in the submitted screening request is not likely to result in significant effects upon the environment, within the meaning of the EIA regulations, in terms of either the characteristics of the development, the location of the development or the type and characteristics of the potential impact of the development.

"This assessment does not mean that… the principle of development is acceptable for the purposes of assessing a planning application."

In March, the council called for a full EIA over Boom Power's plans to install solar panels on 133 acres of countryside at Overton, Middlestown, New Hall and Grange Moor.

A group opposing those plans said it would turn the area into an "industrial landscape" and "destroy the heart of the community".

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