Solar farm plans Wakefield: Plan to build solar farm near to Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Woolley and Haigh villages

The scheme includes installing solar panels on agricultural land near to Woolley and Haigh, near Wakefield.

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

It is bordered to the north by Savin Royd Wood, a mature tree belt that is also used as a paintball venue.

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.

A report says the solar farm would be visible from parts of the visitor attraction.

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

A request for a screening opinion has been submitted to Wakefield Council on behalf of Boom Power.

The company is also behind a controversial solar farm plan in another rural area of Wakefield, at Sitlington.

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 document states: “The proposed development would respond to the government’s support for solar energy by providing a greater renewable energy supply that would reduce carbon emissions and assist in establishing a diversity of energy sources in the UK.

“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.

The document adds: “At the end of the proposed development’s lifespan, the solar panels and other infrastructure would be removed and the site restored to its current condition.

“The minimal ground intrusion involved in the construction of the facility means it is a straightforward process and that the entire development is reversible, meaning it is a temporary and not permanent development.

“Existing landscape features would be protected and strengthened.

“It follows that all trees and hedgerows around the site would be retained and additional planting where necessary.”

In March, Wakefield 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 in to “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.