94-acre solar farm plan to power 5,000 homes looks set for approval
NEW research has revealed that the Peak District ranks third as the best UK destination for a babymoon.
A babymoon is a chance for parents-to-be to enjoy a final childfree getaway before nappy changes and pushchairs take over.
To help choose the perfect babymoon getaway, Flowercard have ranked destinations across the UK, based on factors such as the number of romantic hotels, restaurants, and couple activities, to create the ultimate babymoon index and reveal the UK’s best babymoon destinations.
Babymoons are similar to honeymoons; when couples go on a romantic holiday before the birth of a new baby. This gives the parents some much-needed quality time away together before taking on all of the responsibilities that parenthood offers.
PLANS for a solar farm that could provide electricity for around 5,000 homes a year from a site in the Derbyshire countryside are set for approval.
The area around Alfreton has been subject to numerous solar farm plans over the past year and Anesco Ltd now has its 94-acre plans north of the town recommended for approval.
The scheme would be built on fields to the east of a sewage treatment works, west of a train line and a commercial explosives firm and north of Meadow Lane Industrial Estate.
This site had been subject to an early application – an environmental impact assessment – from Vento Ludens with a slightly larger 120acre scheme in early January, but a full application has not been submitted.
A 94-acre application, from Anesco is now recommended for approval by Amber Valley Borough Council planning officers. A decision will be made by councillors next Monday.
Application documents from Anesco say construction of the proposed solar farm would take between 26 and 28 weeks. Once built, the firm says it could produce enough electricity to power 4,946 homes each year.
It says: “The proposed development will play a very significant role in combating climate change and the move towards a low carbon future. It would result in an approximate saving of 4,378 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.”
If approved, the solar farm would remain on the site for 40 years, after which the panels and infrastructure would be removed and the land would be returned to agricultural use.
The borough council’s climate change and fuel poverty projects officer, responding to the application, said that the authority “recognises the significant positive merits of the planning application proposals” and said it “encourages and supports sustainable and renewable energy generation and efforts to decarbonise energy generation”.
Derbyshire County Council planning officers responded to say they too recognise the positive benefits, which “would also help meet the carbon budgets for both Amber Valley borough and the county as a whole”.
Alfreton Town Council and Blackwell Parish Council have both lodged objections to the scheme.
The town council says it acknowledges the importance and requirements for sustainable renewable energy but feels this is not the right location for a solar farm.
It says a more acceptable scheme would plan to install solar panels on roof spaces, industrial units or former industrial sites.
The parish councils say the proposal would “blight the view from the village of Westhouses” and would be easily visible from the surrounding area.
Cllr John Walker, a member of the borough council planning committee, said the scheme would have a
If you’d rather not break the bank and deal with international travel, staying in the UK for a short break is the ideal option for parents-to-be.
The Lake District takes the top spot for the best place for couples to enjoy a getaway before their little bundle of joy arrives, scoring 7.75 out of 10.
Taking the medal for third is the Peak District (5.9 out of 10), one of the UK’s most visited national parks. Spanning around 555 square miles, you can easily spend a week getting lost in the Peak District for your babymoon.
With 4-star hotel rooms costing on average £100 per night, it is the cheapest place for a 4-star hotel stay on the research list.
Three-star hotels in the area are priced at £80 per night on average.
The research shows the Peaks has an average of 22 romantic restaurants per 10,000 people.
“major effect” on residents in the surrounding neighbourhood.
A total of 12 objection letters were submitted by residents living close to the site.
They welcome the principal of solar farms in Amber Valley and the creation of green energy, but feel the location is too close to housing and spreads the industrial area of the town further into the countryside.
Comments include: “Given that the town has large industrial estates with flat roofs it would make sense to utilise those for solar panels.”
“All for renewable energy but not at such a devastating cost to local people, rights of access to land, loss of farmland, loss of wildlife and their habitat, and impact to buildings and communities, the negative impact to unspoilt countryside and knock on effect to local tourism.”
“After a year where people have turned to nature and the great outdoors as a way to find calm, relax and exercise, it seems at odds that we should be allowing such a big piece of countryside to be paved over with solar panels.”
Recommending approval, council planners say that “the benefits of the development in so far as the provision of renewable energy and a reduction in carbon emissions amount to circumstances which outweigh the less than substantial landscape and visual impacts of the development”.