Plans revealed for 85-acre solar farm in Herefordshire

Plans have been revealed to create a 35-hectare (85-acre) solar farm on a hillside in west Herefordshire.

Liverpool-based Green Switch Capital has submitted an application to determine whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be required for its planned 30-megawatt scheme on farmland at Oatcroft Farm, Eywood Road, Titley near Kington.

With landscape screening along its eastern and western boundaries, in addition to the existing woodland to the north and south, the installation “will be designed to minimise and mitigate the impact it will have on the character of the area, and will incorporate biodiversity and landscape enhancement measures”, the firm’s application says.

The nine clusters of solar arrays would “largely follows the existing field structures of the site and retain the majority of existing hedgerow boundaries”, it adds.

The scheme would have a lifespan of 40 years, after which the site would be returned to its previous condition.

A full planning application for the proposal will still have to be submitted, regardless of the EIA decision.

The current application, numbered 230604, can be commented on until March 14.