DEESIDE solar park will inject £40m into local economy say developers.

Documents submitted to Flintshire County Council show the proposed Deeside solar park would be worth around £40m to the local economy.

The application for planning permission has been submitted by Pegasus Group, on behalf of Atem Solar Ltd, to Flintshire Council for the installation of a 45MW solar park, located north of the A548, Weighbridge Road, opposite Deeside Industrial Estate.

The company behind the massive solar park Atem, have said that much of the economic benefits will be retained within the area, Tata steel are one company set to benefit with the supply of steel, electrical fitting and maintenance, solar panels as well as cleaning and site security will all be sourced locally.

Glyndwr University predict the scheme will potentially support up to 500 jobs, many in construction, however 27 jobs will be created over the ‘lifetime’ of the development.

Atem Solar Ltd have also made a commitment to invest £50,000 a year into local skills training and education.

The proposal has been subject to public scrutiny and meetings have been held with all key stake holders.

At one public consultation day held in October last year, around 140 people attended, all were invited to feedback on the proposal however, only 17 managed to complete the 5 question ‘Likert’ scale type form, partly due to the copious amounts free chocolate biscuits and tea which provided to be suitable distraction.

Additional comments on the forms included;

• Want to preserve the “best farmland in the UK”
• Worried about urbanisation to the North of the A548
• Negative impact on rural character of this area
• Why use top quality agricultural land when there is so much marginal
• land available?
• Keep the fields green – use wind and water power instead
• Allow for input/suggestions for local community within the stated
• ecological options so the community has a sense of ownership
• Worried about the loss of valuable agricultural land
• Worried that it will impact on the sailing at Shotwick
• A hedge along the Park North Side will impact upon the wind on the
• sailing lake
• Glad the development is on the South side (of the sailing lake) not the
• North
• Must consider that there has already been a public inquiry to protect the
• land in question
• The site is a flood plain
• Why not used the vacant brownfield sites on Deeside? Or Ashfield’s
• formerly Sealand MOD site?
• Split the development up into smaller units – you then drop electricity
• bills providing an employment incentive locally
• Use existing roofs and other suitable structures instead

Key issues for the councils planning department to consider will include visual impact, site security and ecological impact. 

Connah`s Quay town council put the developers under pressure at a meeting last year, councillors were keen to understand the real term benefits a solar park would bring to the people of Deeside and the effects such a development would have on prime farmland.

Councillor Attridge tweeted;

In October last year Flintshire County Council wrote to the developers asking them to make a ‘compelling case’ for the need to generate renewable energy in the proposed location, and at the point refused to support any planning applications.

All the planning documents (21) can be downloaded from here.