Plans drawn up for solar farm on disused playing field within MoD Sealand site
Plans have been drawn up for a solar farm on a disused playing field within the MoD Sealand site on Green Lane East, Deeside.
EMCOR Ltd is consulting the public on the proposal before submitting a formal planning application to Flintshire County Council.
The scheme would cover 3.2 hectares of former playing field inside the perimeter of MoD Sealand, classified as previously developed land.
Solar panels up to three metres tall would be installed in rows across the site, south-facing to maximise generation, with the rows spaced approximately 7.5 metres apart.
The scheme has a proposed generating capacity of 3 megawatts.
Electricity from the panels would feed directly into the existing on-site electrical network at MoD Sealand, which is now home to DE&S Deca, a defence organisation responsible for the maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade of defence electronics and equipment.
The applicant says no connection to the national grid is required and no works outside the MoD Sealand perimeter are proposed.
Access to the site would be via the private MoD Sealand service road off Green Lane East, which is already used by the site.
A stone maintenance track would be built through the site for vehicles.
No additional lighting is proposed and the site would continue to be monitored by the existing CCTV network on the MoD estate.
The site is currently mown grass with no trees within the application boundary.
The proposal includes plans to enhance the existing grassland, which is described in the application documents as being of limited ecological value, by introducing wildflower planting across a minimum of 0.25 hectares.
Artificial habitats for insects and small mammals would also be added within the site boundary.
If approved, construction is estimated to take approximately four months.
The scheme is expected to operate for approximately 40 years, after which the panels could be removed and the land restored, or a further application could be submitted to renew the equipment.
The site is bordered by the A548 to the north and west, Green Lane East to the north-east, and operational areas of the MoD site to the east and south.
A landscape and visual appraisal submitted with the consultation documents assesses where the solar farm would be visible from.
It concludes that people using Green Lane East for walking or cycling would see parts of the arrays through the existing fence line on the eastern side of the site.
Pedestrians and cyclists on the A494 and A548 footway would also have close, unrestricted views along the western boundary of the site.
Residents in nearby communities are assessed as not being able to see the development.
The appraisal says Garden City approximately one kilometre to the south-west, Shotwick approximately 1.2 kilometres to the north, and Saughall approximately 2.2 kilometres to the east would all be screened by existing buildings, the raised road junction landform and intervening trees.
Maes Gwyn Farm on Green Lane East, the nearest residential property, is assessed as having no change to its views, with boundary vegetation and tree belts screening the site.
EMCOR Ltd held a formal pre-application consultation with Flintshire County Council on the proposal in 2024.
No planning application for the solar farm has been submitted yet.
When an application is received, it will be considered by Flintshire County Council.
More here: www.sealandsolar.co.uk/draft-documents
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