Elements Green, the developer of the Great North Road Solar Park north of Newark reveals results following public consultation

The developers of a large-scale solar farm project have claimed that residents are showing signs of support.

Elements Green, the company behind the Great North Road Solar Park — which would see a large area of agricultural land to the north of Newark developed — have been carrying out a public consultation on the plans.

The proposed site could see one of Europe’s largest solar parks created on our doorstep in Nottinghamshire, with around 1.5m solar panels producing enough energy to power 400,000 homes.

The public consultation ended yesterday (February 27), with the site’s developer saying that 45% of respondents either supported the project or were open to the project if changes were made to the current plans.

However, Elements Green confirmed that out of the 5,000 properties consulted it received 169 written responses.

Mark Noone, project manager, said he has been impressed by what he called an “open minded view” to the plans from across the community, and has vowed to act quickly on feedback from residents.

“Having consulted widely with the public we are buoyed by the responses at this stage.” said Mark.

“There are a number of respondents who would wish to see changes to the project in order to support it and we intend to make those amendments in the coming weeks.”

The company has promised to ringfence a £40 million package of funding, to be invested into community projects in the area over 40 years and say the site would lead to new jobs.

The issue of flooding was a key concern flagged by residents during the six week long consultation, however, Mark believes that the solar park site would reduce the impact of flooding.

He said: “We are committed to planting 50,000 trees to help slow the transfer of water to the river network.

“Additionally, the land use would be transformed from arable, which floods more easily, into grassland which also helps slow down surface water run-off.

“Without significant investment in flood mitigation we cannot hope to deal effectively with related issues such as widespread potholes.

“A local resident told us she had lost three car tyres and an exhaust in the past year, due to the state of the roads. This cannot be tolerable.

“Once the flooding matters are alleviated then improvements to the road network can be more long-lasting and impactful.”

45% of respondents said they could either support the plans in their current form, or could support them in an amended form.

“For a project of this size and scope, that’s incredibly positive and shows that the public are warming to the Great North Road Solar Park,” added Mark.

“As a nation, we need greener energy and we need energy independence. The Great North Road Solar Park could play a key role in helping the UK on both fronts.

“And after engaging with residents, they have realised the role it could play, whilst they are also seeing the wider economic, social and environmental benefits Great North Road Solar Park could bring.

“We are incredibly grateful to the public for their invaluable feedback that will help make these plans better for everyone.”

What are your thoughts on the plans? Let us know.