Sunderland AFC submits solar farm application

The football club has submitted an application to build a solar farm.

If approved, the facility will be built on a 48-hectare (118-acre) site to the east and west of Sunderland AFC’s training ground near Cleadon Village in South Tyneside.

The plans include a substation, transformer stations, switchyards, security fencing, access gates and improvements to enhance biodiversity such as improved hedgerows.

The club said in a statement that the application was a step towards “becoming one of the first net zero clubs in the UK”.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, documents filed with South Tyneside Council say planning permission is for a “period of 30 years from the date of first export of energy from the solar farm” after which “the land will be reverted to agricultural land”.

The application also states that the solar farm will make a “valuable contribution to combating the effects of climate change” and will have the “potential to provide clean energy for up to 9,700 medium-sized homes in South Tyneside and offset the CO2 emissions of around 3,700 residents”.

The proposals included a “community benefits package” worth a total of £15,000 a year over the life of the solar farm, all of which was to be invested in South Tyneside charities.

The application acknowledges the “damage being caused to the green belt”, but adds that “there are no alternative sites in South Tyneside that could provide the same level of performance in generating renewable energy from the sun”.

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made once consultation with the council has concluded.