ANOTHER massive solar scheme is planned for rural Dorset – the second big application in recent weeks.

The latest, at Stockbridge, near Longburton, just south of Sherborne, could produce enough power for more than 10,600 homes.

The application is 40 per cent larger that the other recent big solar application, off Slyer’s Lane between Dorchester and the Piddle Valley which will generate enough power for more than 6,000 homes.

The Higher Stockbridge Farm application comes from Voltalia UK Ltd and could produce 35MW of electricity from solar panels laid out across a number of fields mainly to the west of the farm buildings complex.

The site is approximately 3 miles south of Sherborne and 5 miles south east of Yeovil with the villages of Lillington, Leigh and Longburton all just over a mile from the site.

The application includes proposals for an electricity substation; transformer stations; site access and internal tracks; landscaping; biodiversity measures; security fencing and ancillary infrastructure.

Public comments on the application remain open until February 20th and can be submitted via the Dorset Council website. It is expected that a decision will be made by a planning officer unless local councillors ask for the application to come before an area committee.

Two public exhibition sessions were held last year, which attracted around 20 people, although more than 260 leaflets were sent directly to nearby homes.

The company has also set up a website which they say has been visited by more than 400 people – https://www.higherstockbridgesolarpark.co/

Voltalia says it is responsible for the installation of over 22 solar parks in the UK with a total capacity of over 196 MW