Coventry Council’s Planning Committee has now approved the development of a solar farm on land it owns in Alderman’s Green.
Similar plans for a solar farm were previously refused by the committee in February 2024.
Council Officers had recommended that the first application be approved, but now say that the new application overcomes the reasons for refusal.
The application site comprises 51 hectares of primarily agricultural land, bisected by the Oxford Canal. It is bound by the settlement of Alderman’s Green to the north, the M6 and Coventry Cruising Club to the south, Lenton’s Lane Cemetery and Sowe Common to the east and Alderman’s Green Road to the west.
The proposal is a cross-boundary application with the western area of the site being located within the Coventry City Council’s administrative boundary off Lenton’s Lane and the eastern area of the site (beyond Lenton’s Lane Cemetery and Sowe Common) located within Rugby Borough.
The application site is located within Green Belt.
Planning permission was sought for a 25 Megawatt (MW) solar farm development including solar arrays, control buildings and associated infrastructure, internal access roads, landscaping and associated development.
The Proposed Development comprises approximately 44,000 ground mounted solar panels, six invertor containers, a control building, access roads, fencing and security cameras. There are also environmental enhancements and measures to offset environmental, visual and glare impacts.
The current scheme has a reduction in the number of solar panels by a third (a reduction from 60,180 to 40,000) including the removal of solar panels from the field adjacent to homes in Lenton’s Lane. There is also a landscaped buffer of trees, hedgerows and wildflowers. The layout has also been changed to minimise impacts on established public access routes. The control building has also been relocated to minimise visual impact and an alternative construction access has been approved.
The application was made by E.ON, which has a strategic energy partnership agreement with the City Council. The collaboration focuses on delivering sustainable energy solutions that improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and support the city’s net-zero ambitions.
E.On has promised to provide a Neighbour Fund that will provide “subsidized energy solutions” for those closest to the development, a discount tariff fund for those in the surrounding area and community-based projects across the community.
The Coventry Society supported this application, which we felt addressed the issues with the first application.