Changes approved to solar farm development on South Staffordshire farmland
Changes have been allowed to the layout of a solar farm set to be built on farmland in South Staffordshire.
The original application for land at Littywood Farm, Dunston, was rejected by South Staffordshire District Council in September 2023, but went on to be allowed at appeal the following year.
A new application has now come forward to request variation of conditions to allow a proposed substation to be relocated.
Other alterations are set to include a new point of connection to the existing overhead high voltage electricity cables to the east of the relocated project substation, new internal roads providing access to the relocated project substation, removal of some solar photovoltaic (PV) panels from an area in the eastern part of the development site and removal of a north-west/south-east aligned ditch formerly required for ecological mitigation and its replacement with solar PV panels.
South Staffordshire Council’s planning committee voted to approve the condition variations at their meeting on Tuesday (March 17).
Olivia Glenn, planning manager at Elgin Energy, spoke in support of the application at Tuesday’s meeting. She said: “This application seeks amendments to an already approved solar farm.
“The main change is the relocation of the substation from the northern part of the site to the eastern side, together with a corresponding rearrangement of infrastructure. The relocated substation would remain over 300m from the nearest residential dwelling, with no conflict with the council’s separation distance guidance and no concerns identified in relation to noise.
“A comprehensive landscaping scheme has been proposed to ensure that infrastructure is appropriately screened. The amendments also provide additional mitigation and a betterment to heritage assets, including an increased buffer to the Grade II building The Toft.
“Approving these amendments will allow the scheme to be delivered efficiently and bring forward the generation of clean electricity sooner. Increasing domestic renewable energy such as solar strengthens the UK’s energy security by reducing reliance on imported fuels and helps protect households from price volatility.”
