Solar farm close to M1 services approved

Plans to install more than 15,000 solar panels on farmland near the M1 Watford Gap services have been approved.

They will be put on an 18-acre (7.3 hectare) field close to the service station, the A5 and existing warehouses.

West Northamptonshire Council received no objections to the application.

James Walker, from developer PS Renewables, told the authority's planning committee it was "a relatively small solar farm comprising a single field".

The meeting of the council's strategic planning committee on Tuesday heard the panels would have little visual impact due to warehousing and wind turbines in the backdrop, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Once built, the site could generate up to 6mw of renewable electricity, which the applicants advised would be enough to power 2,100 homes.

Mr Walker told the committee: "The solar farm will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions in line with legal requirements - and will importantly be electricity generated in the UK for use in the UK."

He added the site was not previously used for growing crops but instead held livestock, which would continue once the solar farm was operational in the form of sheep grazing.

The committee members voted unanimously to approve the project.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.