Solar Park

Plans have been submitted for a Solar Park at Ebbsfleet.

The council has received an application for the use of approximately 12 hectares of land at Ebbsfleet for a Solar Park. The application involves the installation of approximately 60 rows of solar panels, with each being 3 metres in height, on a triangle of land between the Richborough Power station, the Southern Water Waste Treatment Works and the new East Kent Access road. The proposal also includes associated equipment cabinets, and a 2.5 metre high fence would be erected around the perimeter of the site.

The applicant has stated that the panels would produce an average of 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts of electricity per year, which would be fed into the national grid via a substation.

The application is accompanied by a habitat survey and assessment of the development on the designated nature conservation sites in the surrounding area. This applicant states the proposal will provide enhancements to bio-diversity, by providing wildlife corridors along the Minster Stream, which runs through the site, and along the south-west boundary.

Details of the application are available on the council's website using UK Planning under reference 11/0029. The plans can also be viewed by visiting Thanet's Gateway Plus in Cecil Street, Margate from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with extended opening until 8pm on Thursdays. Thanet's Gateway Plus is also open from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

The deadline for comments to be received is Friday 25 February 2011. Comments should be sent to planning.services@thanet.gov.uk The application will be considered by the council’s Planning Committee in Spring 2011.