Consultation launched on 1,100 hectare solar farm proposals for land Crowland, Shepeau Stow, Gedney Hill and Sutton St Edmunds

Residents will be able to have their say on early designs of a massive solar farm which is due to be built on fields surrounding a number of villages.

Meridian Solar Farm wants to build the 750 megawatts solar farm over 1,100 hectares on land which runs between Crowland, Shepeau Stow, Gedney Hill and Sutton St Edmunds.

The firm, which is a subsidiary Downing Renewable Developments (DRD), is launching its stage two consultation on the proposal - which will be decided on by a Government minister and not local planners - today (Thursday, April 24) and it is due to last for six weeks.

Along with the solar panels, the application will also include 12 to 13km overhead line, which is due to connect into the proposed National Grid substation in Weston Marsh, along with other infrastructure such as battery storage systems and inter-array connections to link together the land parcels where the solar panels are located.

Public consultation sessions will be held in Sutton St Edmund, Crowland and Weston in May.

David Vernon, Head of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects at DRD, comments “Since we introduced Meridian Solar last summer, we have been working hard to develop a design based on the early feedback received and our ongoing environmental, technical and engineering assessments.

“We’re inviting the public to learn more about and provide feedback on our developed proposals, which is important to help us shape our final designs. We encourage anyone with an interest in Meridian Solar to take part in the consultation.”

This latest consultation provides an opportunity to have your say on the initial design before a Development Consent Order application is submitted to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero towards the end of 2025.

Public consultation events will be held on:

• Saturday, May 10, 10.30am – 4.30pm, Sutton St Edmund Village Hall,

• Wednesday, May 21, 2pm – 8pm, Crowland Snowden Pavilion,

• Thursday, May , 2pm – 8pm, Weston Village Hall, Small Drove.

Developers are also planning to upload two online information presentations on the Meridian Solar website during the consultation period, which ends on June 8.

The first presentation will provide an overview of the proposals and where to find out more information while the second presentation will be uploaded after the consultation events to provide a summary of the main questions and responses.

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