Revised plans for solar farm at ex-RAF Fiskerton site approved

Plans have been approved for a solar farm on the site of a former wartime airfield in Lincolnshire.

The site of the ex-RAF Fiskerton was first given approval for use as a solar farm in 2021, with conditions relating to the size of communication masts.

Fresh approval has now been granted by West Lindsey District Council after an agreement was reached.

Opponents to the plans said it would blight the countryside and deliver no benefit to the local community.

According to planning documents, the size of the masts has increased from 49ft (15m) to 82ft (25m) to allow direct communication from the approved substation to control the export of electricity from the solar farm to the distribution network.

To comply with the planning approval, the solar farm would operate for 40 years before the land was returned to its previous use.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the site and the use of arable land for producing energy, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

One response to the proposal said: "There are disused concrete runways nearby where the land could be utilised for this proposal without using arable land."

The solar farm is one of a number proposed for Lincolnshire.

In February, campaigners staged a protest over plans for a huge solar farm between Lincoln and Sleaford, which it is claimed could power 180,000 homes.

Earlier this year, National Grid also announced plans to install 420 pylons up to 164ft (50m) high along an 87 mile (140km) stretch between Grimsby and Walpole in Norfolk.

The infrastructure operator said the pylon network was "needed urgently to connect new green energy to the grid".

However, critics have raised concerns about the plan's impact on the countryside.

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