Go-ahead for farm solar plan

A large Herefordshire fruit farm has been told it can install more than 1,500 solar panels on its roofs.

S&A Soft Fruits planned an array of “around 1,567” panels on two buildings at its Brierley Court Farm, south of Leominster.

These are expected to generate 458,000 kWh a year for its own use, as part of its “decarbonisation strategy”, its application said.

Having visited the site last month, council planning officer Emily Brookes concluded that the farm’s plan met the Government’s restrictions on size and siting of solar panel installations that do not need prior planning permission.

“The surrounding land is filled with polytunnels, and as such it is not considered that the proposal would harm the landscape,” she wrote in her report.

“No immediate neighbours would be impacted” by the black and non-reflective panels, she added.