A SOLAR farm featuring more than 1,000 panels will be installed in a field in Little Warley, after Brentwood Borough Council's planning and development committee overturned a decision to reject the proposal.
The new installation will help power huge refrigerators at the Cheale Meats abattoir at Orchard Farm.
The panels will be located on green belt land – a fact which led planning officers initially to refuse the application. But at a meeting on Monday, councillors voted in favour of the removable structure, which will consist of six rows of panels in a field to the south of the abattoir.
Director Paul Cheale told members he had not anticipated getting planning permission would be so difficult, given the Government's calls for businesses to reduce their carbon footprints.
He said: "It is good news. We're very pleased that the councillors would have to see this will be a positive thing. While we are using it we'll take what we need first and sell any excess to the National Grid."
Designers claim the £300,000 investment will provide around 229,798 kWh a year for the business, approximately 80 times the energy used in an average family home in the UK,
Vice-chairman of the planning and development committee Councillor Linda Golding had called the application in for discussion.
She said the decision would not set any precedent for future applications in the area, adding: "If they were being stuck next to the Little House on the Prairie that would be different, but when you go and look at the site the panels will hardly be seen.
"This is why it is important to discuss these things. It's important make our decisions after hearing the debates in the chamber."
The plans were designed by Mosscliff Environmental.
Project manager Ollie Taylor told the Gazette: "We are extremely happy with the result of the meeting and what it represents for the future of renewable energy.
"We felt the council's balanced approach to the debate was brilliant, and really helped bring to light the many positives of renewable energy.
"The photovoltaic system at Orchard Farm will be a great flagship project highlighting how the technology can be effectively integrated into the operations of a business."
