A new solar farm could soon be coming to the Maldon district, under plans to develop agricultural land to power thousands of homes.

Low Carbon Solar Park 1, owned by UK firm Low Carbon, wants to build an 89-acre facility on land located to the south west of Maldon - off the A414 Maldon Road - after choosing the area from a list of over 80 sites.

If approved, Maldon Wycke Solar Farm would generate around 25 megawatts of renewable energy - enough electricity to power around 8,000 homes.

A design statement submitted with the plans points to Maldon District Council's declaration of a climate emergency in February last year, which means it is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030.

The statement says: "This requires major investment in proven technologies, such as solar and wind, which is supported by planning policy at local and national level.

"The proposed development would help to address this need by generating clean and renewable energy without the need for subsidies."

The statement says the site is "relatively isolated", with Maldon town, Purleigh, Woodham Mortimer, Hazeleigh, Cocks Clarks, Rudley Green and Farther Howegreen within three kilometres of the site.

It says the villages are "well screened from the site by existing vegetation, including dense woodland".

The solar panels would be a maximum of 2.8 metres and minimum of 2.5 metres high and would be laid out in rows running from east to west across the site, with a gap of around three to four metres between each row.

There would be a system of CCTV cameras around the perimeter of the site, which would provide full 24-hour surveillance.

Around 30 per cent of the site would be developed by the installation of solar panels and other infrastructure, with the remainder retained as grassland, hedgerows and trees - including between and underneath rows of panels.

Low Carbon is a privately-owned UK company which has funded the development of more than 322 megawatts of UK solar so far, generating enough energy to power more than 100,000 homes - including solar parks in Great Wilbraham, Battens Farm and Branston.

The firm has already carried out pre-application consultation with residents, the council and other stakeholders, which has resulted in changes to "mitigate concerns" - including additional screen planting next to isolated homes to the west of the site and a commitment to keep all public rights of way open throughout construction and operation.

The company said 100 per cent of respondents to the consultation "agreed that the UK needs more renewable energy generation".

If approved, construction of the farm would not begin until a final investment decision is made by Low Carbon and a contractor appointed.

Construction would take around 16 weeks.

The farm would operate for 40 years before being decommissioned and the land returned to its previous state.

Maldon District Council will make the final decision.

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