Conrad Energy Developments solar farm in West Coker approved

Conrad Energy (Developments) II Ltd. applied in September 2023 to construct a solar farm south of Camp Road in West Coker, on land north of the local doctors’ surgery.

The solar farm will provide power direct to Leonardo’s factory on Lysander Road for the next four decades, further consolidating the company’s Somerset base.

Somerset Council’s planning committee south has now given its backing to the proposals, meaning the facility could be up and running before the end of the year.

The solar farm will cover an area of 16.24 hectares (just over 40 acres), with a direct underground cable connection to the Leonardo site underneath the Lysander Road roundabout.

The site will include a small battery energy storage facility, allowing excess power generated from the panels to be stored and re-utilised during times of higher demand.

The existing public right of way which runs from north to south through the middle of the site will be maintained as part of the development.

The facility is expected to be operational for 40 years (though this could be extended through subsequent planning applications) and could supply around a quarter of Leonardo’s energy needs.

The land around the solar panels can still be used for grazing sheep, with the land being returned to its original use after the solar farm has been dismantled.

Local residents Martin and Fiona Heath expressed concern about the plans when they were debated in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (January 30) by the council’s planning committee south (which handles major planning applications in the former South Somerset area).

Mr Heath said: “I do not see any guarantees for decommissioning in the planning conditions – and indeed an extension may be granted.

“Leonardo’s 2023 carbon reduction plan states that 100 per cent of its already from renewable sources. This project seems to be about replacing one form of renewable energy with another.”

Mrs Heath added: “We already have to endure noise and air pollution from being in the helicopter test flightpath – with 12 flights recorded over my house in one day last summer, causing the whole house to vibrate.

“Can a guarantee be given that flights will not increase over local housing if pilots wish to avoid these fields?”

Councillor Martin Wale (Chard North) praised the proposals, stating: “The normal objections on solar farm are to visibility – and there’s been little mention of that this time.

“I think we have no reason to objection to this application.”

By contrast, Councillor Sue Osborne (Ilminster) said she was concerned about the loss (temporary or otherwise) of grade two agricultural land (i.e. land considered by Defra to be among the more fertile or versatile for farming).

She said: “You’re taking out grade two land, which we really shouldn’t be doing. There could come a requirement when we do need to feed ourselves a little more than we are doing – and I suspect that point is a little closer than some of us perhaps realise.

“This is, no doubt about it, a very urbanised development, and we need to think very carefully about putting an industrial development of this type in a very rural area, so close to a number of heritage assets.”

Despite these concerns, the committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of ten votes to zero, with one abstention.

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Oliver Patrick (whose Coker division includes the site) welcomed the committee’s decision and criticised the government’s lack of progress regarding solar panels on new housing development or commercial premises – things which would reduce the need for new solar farms on agricultural land.

He said: “I spent considerable time talking with and listening to local residents about this solar farm, and made sure that every concern raised was addressed in the planning process and at the committee itself.

“I know some are deeply concerned about solar panels carpeting the countryside but in reality they take up a tiny fraction of land in the Somerset Council area, just under 0.3 per cent by my calculations.

“In terms of energy security and the national effort to tackle climate change, we are going to need to sacrifice a little bit of open countryside. However, I find it deeply disappointing that the government still have not legislated for all new build houses to have solar panels on their roofs.

“We Liberal Democrats attempted to do this in the coalition government but it was thrown out by David Cameron. Here we are nine years later, and I still can’t believe this hasn’t made it into planning legislation.”

Conrad Energy has delivered similar projects in Somerset in the last few years, securing permission in August 2022 for a battery storage facility at King’s Farm in Shearston at the southern edge of the Quantock Hills national landscape (formerly area of outstanding natural beauty, or AONB).

CEO Steven Hardman said: “The Leonardo site in Yeovil is an incredibly important business and our team is offering a solution to help them move towards their net zero targets, whilst also working to fulfil the aims of the local council.

“Long-term partnerships that ensure community engagement and a positive biodiversity impact are integral to the way we work, as the energy transition requires support from all of us.

“We are thrilled to have secured planning consent and look forward to bringing this solar farm to life for the benefit of the local economy and environment.”