Old Malton solar farm plan goes to public consultation

Mrs Sturdy said she accepted there needed to be more use of renewable energy, and she did not oppose the building of solar farms.

But she said: “They need to be built in the right place.

“Why not on the roofs of factories or huge warehouses?

“This – a viable tenanted farm – with high-quality agricultural land, is the wrong place for a solar farm.”

Frances Nicholson, one of Harmony Energy’s directors, said the firm had reduced the amount of high-grade land in the area covered by its proposed development.

If the solar farm was built, it would provide energy to power the equivalent of more than 8,000 homes, Ms Nicholson said.

She said: “The solar farm would take out about 12,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from day-to-day use.

“We need to be as close as possible to the point of connection.

“That invariably has to take some agricultural land out of production.

“But we’ve worked really hard to refine the site down to utilise the poorest performing land in the area.”

The public inquiry is due to begin in Malton on Tuesday.

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