Pledge to create hundreds of jobs in major new solar farm plan

Around 460 new jobs could be created if a controversial Nottinghamshire solar park gets the go-ahead. The proposed Great North Road Solar Park, near Newark, would create enough clean energy to power around 400,00 homes, according to the developers.

Developer Elements Green states that around 400 roles would be created during the construction phase, with a further 60 needed permanently once it is operational. Mark Noone, company head of UK development, said: “The benefits of the Great North Road Solar Park aren’t just limited to cheaper bills and greener energy.

“There will be hundreds of secure well-paid jobs created during construction and the project’s legacy would include scores of skilled positions once the site is operational. Over half of those will be engineering roles, but there will also be a need for admin and support staff, and there will be plenty of chances for these roles to be filled locally.

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“These will be good jobs, which are permanent and pay a proper wage. And much like the Great North Road Solar Park, we believe they will make a positive contribution to the lives of families across the area. The skills and training opportunities on offer to local people will form part of a separate announcement to follow in the coming months.”

Mr Noone said that earlier this year, a public consultation revealed “pleasing” levels of support for the development which would be built north of the town. Almost half of the respondents either backed the development or could support it in an amended form.

If approved it would see around 1.5m solar panels erected to produce cleaner energy, which would play a significant role in hitting the UK Government’s Solar PV target of 70GW constructed by 2050. Locally, the developers claim it would lead to a greener Nottinghamshire – with substantially less carbon emitted into the atmosphere each year.

Developer Elements Green is planning to set up a huge number of solar panels to form a ‘Great North Road Solar Park’ close to the villages of Maplebeck, Ossington and North Muskham. Designs show a ring of solar panels approximately four miles wide being installed on land north-west of Newark, between the A1 and A617.

Additionally, around £1m-a-year in grant funding would be made available to the local community via the NG+ scheme, helping community projects that have a focus on areas such as education, food security, energy efficiency, wellbeing and the environment.

Mr Noone added: “Whilst the Great North Road Solar Park is still currently a proposal, the benefits it could bring to this area – be it jobs, community funding and cleaner energy – are huge. And this all signals our intent to make a permanent and positive economic difference to the area through the Great North Road Solar Park.”

Last year, Robert Jenrick, Conservative MP for Newark, who is standing in the upcoming general election, criticised the “breath taking scale” of the project and said the spread of large solar farms “must be stopped”. “It would be a massive change to the landscape of the area, turning beautiful countryside into an industrial landscape and loses hundreds of acres of agricultural land,” he wrote on Facebook.

The Government is aiming for the UK to become carbon net zero by 2050, and is hoping to produce 70GW of solar power by 2035.

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