PLANNING permission to build a 22-acre solar farm in Llanmartin is set to get the go-ahead after originally being refused in October last year.

The proposed development would see rows of solar panels laid out on farmland north of Court Farm in Magor Road.

The application has been resubmitted to Newport City Council planning committee and will be discussed on April 1 after the planning inspectorate found that the council's reason for refusal, due to the loss of agricultural land, carried little weight.

BE Renewables say around 100 jobs will be created during the construction phase, with many of these jobs being secured by South Wales businesses.

Further employment opportunities will be created throughout the lifetime operation of the solar farm providing security and long-term sustainability to the existing business at Court Farm.

Planning officers said overall it is considered that the harm to landscape character, visual amenity and the amenity of users of the public footpath network is not of sufficient weight to justify a refusal of permission especially "given the benefits of the scheme and the broad policy support enjoyed by renewable generation at national and local level".

This application is a resubmission and is the same application which was previously refused permission in October 2014 due to lose of agricultural land.

However a recent appeal decision at Llanvapley in Monmouthshire confirmed that solar farms are temporary developments that do not cause the permanent loss of agricultural land so long as assurance can be given to the reversibility of the development.

The developers, BE Renewables, say the solar farm, which would be active for 25 years, will generate up to 10 megawatts of renewable, clean, electricity.

They say this is enough to power 3,500 households and save 6,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking 1,300 large family cars off the road a year.

At the end of the 25 year period the equipment will be removed and the land restored to enable a continuation of future agricultural use.

BE Renewables business development manager, James Ayres, said: “Much of the feedback we have received directly from local residents has been positive and that’s great. We are pleased that we have been able to offer benefit to both Bishton and Langstone Community residents through the proposed Community Benefit Fund, granting a total of an estimated £180,000 over the 25 years.”

“People are looking at weather events around the world and the changes in our meteorology circumstances and realising how serious climate change is. We can generate a lot of energy for our own use in the UK from solar energy as well as other renewable sources, and we should be.”

“We are very positive that this is a good thing for the area.”