A SECOND solar park is being proposed for the Egremont area.

Farmers John and David Hewitson, want to build a 50 acre solar park on their land, near Thornhill.

A separate plan for a 44 acre solar park near Bigrigg and Woodend is currently being processed by Copeland Council.

On Tuesday, members of the Haile and Wilton parish council will meet with developers, Green Energy UK Direct, and the Hewitsons to discuss community benefits of their plans.

If either were to be built they would be the first in Copeland. More than 70 letters of objection were sent to the council in October 2014 when the Bigrigg and Woodend park plans were put forward.

Gordon Smith, Haile and Wilton Parish Council chairman, has issued a rallying call for people to share their views about this latest solar park when the official plans are put forward.

The proposed 10 megawatt, 50 acre site would be built on the Hewitson’s farm, Yeorton Hall, and would provide enough energy to power 2,500 homes which would go into the National Grid. No official plans have been put forward to Copeland Council to date.

The proposed site falls in the parish of Haile and Wilton and Mr Smith said: “People need to share their views on this whether they be positive or negative. It will definitely have an impact as it is right next to the A595 and it may distract drivers if there is any sort of glare from the panels so we would expect an environmental survey and a road safety evaluation when the plans are put forward.

“At the moment we are still in the consultation period and Haile and Wilton Parish Council remain very open-minded about the plans. The meeting on Tuesday will help us to discuss any issues and give us a better idea of what the plans involve.”

A public exhibition was held two weeks ago at Haile Village Hall by the company, Green Energy UK Direct, who are working with the farmers and it said it had a very positive response to the plans from the 35 people who attended.

Arthur Bell, a director at the company who has worked on the project, said: “The event was very positive, and we have listened to comments from members of the public. Consequently we will be reducing the size of the site by moving it away from the A595, the most prominent viewpoint, by over 100 meters and adding additional screening to lessen the visibility even more.

“Another concern was the effect of additional construction traffic on the A595 but with an average of two to three additional vehicles per day during the eight to 12 week build, this would not seem significant.

“However, the deliveries will avoid both the school run and we will liaise with Sellafield to avoid the very busy shift change periods. On the positive side, there will be less farming traffic using the site for the next 25 years.”

For the Hewitsons, who have run the 400 acre family farm since 1991, the solar park would mean a regular income and helping to put energy back into the national grid.

“Green Energy UK Direct pay us rent to use the land and then they will build the solar park,” said 52-year-old John.

“The farming industry isn’t easy to make a living from anymore and farmers are looking to diversify. The farm is in the middle of nowhere so it shouldn’t have any negative impacts and the feedback so far has been good.

“That’s exactly what we want as we’ve been here a long time and don’t want to ruin our good relationships with the local people.”