Farm attraction gets green light for solar plan

Image source, Google

Image caption, The attraction features a petting zoo, cafe and several play areas
  • Author, By Eddie Bisknell
  • Role, Local Democracy Reporting Service

A farm attraction in Derby has been granted planning permission to install more than 500 solar panels.

Bluebells Dairy Farm, in Locko Road, Spondon, said the panels would help the business stay afloat in the face of soaring energy costs.

Erewash Borough Council approved the application at a planning meeting on Wednesday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A Bluebells representative said the 528 panels would be fully removable and sheep would be able to graze in the same section of redundant farmland.

Steve Birkinshaw, the council's head of planning, said there were certain "exceptional" circumstances in which building solar panels in the protected green belt could be seen as acceptable and this was one of those instances.

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