A STRETCH of countryside on the outskirts of Darlington could be used to site a large solar farm if plans by an energy firm are approved.

Elgin Energy ispreparing to lodge an application with Darlington Borough Council to create an 18-hectare (44.5 acre) solar panel installation on fields at Hunger Hill and Morton farms - which lie between the town and Middleton St George.

The site would generate the equivalent electricity to power 1,500 homes per year, and, if approved, the panels would be there for 25 years.

A consultation event has been held to notify nearby residents of the proposals and that feedback is being taken into consideration before final plans are submitted to the council.

A spokesman for Elgin Energy explained the benefits of the PV (photovoltaic) panels.

He said: “The installed PV panels will be clean, quiet and visually unobtrusive, and will emit zero carbon emissions.

“Furthermore, a PV site is a temporary structure and will leave no permanent traces when removed after 25-years.

“PV developments encourage ecological growth as they are tranquil, largely undisturbed sites which do not require heavy machinery or intensive farming to maintain.

“In addition, the land can still be used for agricultural purposes as sheep grazing is greatly encouraged as it can help support maintenance of the PV scheme.”

Doris Jones, chair of Middleton St George Parish Council, said that she did not object to the scheme in principle but did have concerns about the volume of construction traffic that would be travelling through the village during the site’s installation.

She said: “To be honest I don’t really have a problem with solar panels in the fields as the cattle can still walk underneath and graze.

“My concern is how are the construction vehicles going to get there? Probably through Neasham and Middleton St George.

“What I have asked for is that they consider an alternative route through the fields.”

She added: “We are all for conservation, but we have to think of the traffic as well; the impact of the wagons, the noise and the danger of them during the school run, which is horrendous during the week anyway, it doesn’t bear thinking about.”

If planning permission is granted for the scheme, Elgin anticipates that construction will take approximately three months.