Woolley solar farm: Council says plan to put panels on 125 acres of greenbelt near to Yorkshire Sculpture Park ‘not likely’ to harm environment

An energy firm wants to install solar panels on two sites close to Yorkshire Sculpture Park and two rural villages.

A report into the proposals describes the locations as ‘not within a sensitive area’.

One of the sites is a 70-acre field off Haigh Lane, near to the M1 motorway.

A second 55-acre site is made up of two fields next to Woolley Edge Lane, Middle Field Lane and Gypsy Lane.

Key local destinations include Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which is located around 500m from the Haigh Lane site.

The solar farm would be visible from parts of the visitor attraction.

The second site is 475m from the Woolley Conservation Area.

Last month, a request for a screening opinion was submitted to Wakefield Council on behalf of Boom Power.

A screening opinion helps developers get an idea of how likely an environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be needed before a formal planning application is submitted.

The local authority has said the scheme is “not considered to be an EIA development”.

A document says: “The site is not within a ‘sensitive area’ as defined by the EIA regulations.”

It adds: “The development described in the submitted screening request is not likely to result in significant effects upon the environment, within the meaning of the EIA regulations, in terms of either the characteristics of the development, the location of the development or the type and characteristics of the potential impact of the development.”

The environmental impact of the plans would still be considered if a full planning application is submitted.

The report warns: “This assessment does not mean that…the principle of development is acceptable for the purposes of assessing a planning application.”

A report submitted on behalf of Boom Power says the development would respond to the government’s support for solar energy, adding: “The biodiversity of the site could also be significantly improved.”

The scheme, which could be in place for up to 40 years, includes installing solar panels up to 2.8m in height.

The plan also includes laying an underground cable from the solar farm to a substation at Woolley Grange to connect to the National Grid.

Both sites would be bounded by 2m-high fencing and protected by a CCTV system.

In March, the council called for a full EIA over Boom Power’s plans to install solar panels on 133 acres of countryside at Overton, Middlestown, New Hall and Grange Moor.

The Save Sitlington group has been set up in opposition to the scheme.

The group says that a solar farm would turn the area into “an industrial landscape” and will “destroy the heart of the community”.

The company has already been granted permission by Kirklees Council to build a solar farm on 210 acres of land at Flockton.

A third application to access the National Grid on land near to Horbury Bridge has also been approved.