Solar panel farm the size of 80 football pitches could be created on the edge of the Harborough district

Plans have been submitted for a new solar farm.

The applicant says the site could be returned to greenfield land if the solar farm were to be decommissioned at any point.

A farm on the edge of the Harborough district could have solar panels installed in its fields, plans have revealed.

An area the size of almost 80 football pitches at Soars Lodge Farm in Foston could be operated as a solar farm over a forty year period, if the development is given the green light.

The plan is in the very early stage, with applicant Sonnedix Fritts Ltd having submitted a screening report to Blaby District Council. The report would set out what information the company would need to provide, alongside a planning application, to mitigate the environmental impact of the proposal.

It would investigate a range of potential effects, including landscape, ecology, noise and traffic, and would identify measures which could mitigate them. But it does suggest a full plan for a solar farm is in the pipeline.

A report which is included with the request reveals solar panels up to three metres in height would be installed across around 57 hectares of land – the size of some 80 football pitches. Sonnedix Fritts Ltd said the plan would result in ‘a temporary loss of land currently used for agriculture’, but grazing could be extended to allow farming to continue in the area.

The company added the site could be returned to greenfield land if the solar farm were to be decommissioned at any point.

The applicant has also indicated it would most likely maintain the two existing public footpaths through the fields, as well as the hedgerows, trees and vegetation within its borders. Additional planting is also proposed to minimise the visual impact of the development.

Energy to the proposed solar farms would be transferred by cable along Foston Road and Welford Road before joining the overhead powerlines. Two new tracks would also need to be created within the site to allow access to the panels.

A full planning application would need to be submitted to and approved by Blaby District Council before any work could begin.