Huge new solar farm planned in Wymeswold

Proposals are at a very early stage, with Exagen currently seeking feedback from villagers to help shape a future planning application.

Leaflets sent out to residents show the solar farm would be made up of three parcels of land off Narrow Lane.

It would generate enough electricity to power 18,800 homes, Exagen said.

If approved, the project would be called the Mantle Solar Farm.

Access would be from the Six Hills Junction on the A46, with those travelling to the site going along Melton Road and Narrow Lane.

Access points would need to be upgraded at the eastern parcel, while a new access would need to be created in the south-east corner of the central plot.

The western parcel would be accessed by the existing track which serves the poultry farm there, with Exagen saying no work would need to be done to that.

The company said it believes traffic can be routed in a way to avoid passing through Wymeswold or ‘any other local settlement’.

Construction would be expected to last six months, after which the solar farm would be ‘remotely operated’.

Local contractors and businesses would be employed ‘as far as possible’ during the construction and operational phases.

A ‘community benefit fund’ would be set up for the solar farm’s lifetime.

This could be used for ‘local amenities’ or to support local organisations, the company said.

Exagen added the Mantle Solar Farm site is set back from neighbouring communities and is generally well screened.

However, hedgerow and tree planting would also be included in any plan to help further mitigate any visual impact of the development, it said.

Local MP for Loughborough, Jeevun Sandher, has come out in support of the proposal, which he said was ‘exciting’.

He added in a statement on X: “I campaigned on bringing green investment here […]

“There will be those who object to this solar farm because they’ll say ‘it spoils the view’ and to them I say bluntly: ‘Future generations will not thank us for letting the planet burn’.”

Residents are invited to public consultation meetings in February.

There is also a survey on the Exagen website for them to leave their views.