A new solar farm near Bridgwater town centre will still be built – but it may not be funded by public money.

Somerset County Council announced in February 2021 that it would commit just over £3m of its capital programme to delivering a new solar park in the Saltlands area of Bridgwater, near the town’s household waste recycling centre.

Planning permission is in place for the site, with the council’s cabinet voting in March 2022 to push forward and appoint a contractor to deliver the project.

But Somerset Council (which replaces the county council in April) has now pulled the capital funding as it seeks to tackle the ‘financial emergency’ it declared in early-November.

The council has said it still intends for the project to proceed, but will look at other means to delivering the solar farm.

The solar farm will be built across three fields north of the Saltlands Community Wood, near the Wessex Water processing facility and the school transport depot.

The site – which is surrounded on three sides by the River Parrett, and lies on the River Parrett Trail walking route – was used as a landfill for inert waste until it was capped in 1989.

Council officers estimated in 2022 that the solar farm could generate more than 3.6 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean energy per year, saving more than 800 tonnes of carbon a year.

Bridgwater Mercury: The solar farm will be built across three fields to the north of the Saltlands Community Wood.The solar farm will be built across three fields to the north of the Saltlands Community Wood. (Image: Alandem Consulting)

In reports published before a meeting of the council’s executive committee on Wednesday (December 6), officers confirmed that the solar park “will not proceed”, with £3m being removed from its capital programme.

However, the council subsequently clarified that all options were still being explored to deliver it – with the land being retained in public ownership.

A spokesperson said: “Somerset Council is exploring all possibilities to make this solar farm a reality.

“Planning consent is in place, and we are liaising closely with National Grid, the district network operator, to determine the practicalities and time-scales of a possible grid connection.

“The £3m capital allocation made for the solar park has been reviewed due to the council’s financial position, and we are investigating other external methods of operating and funding.

“We are investigating all opportunities to build this solar park; one possibility is that the council-owned land may be leased to an external party to deliver it.”

Part of the solar farm site is currently being used as the construction compound for the Bridgwater tidal barrier, which is expected to be operational by early-2027.

The council said the solar farm could still be brought forward before the barrier was completed, and was working with the Environment Agency (EA) to ensure access was maintained.

The spokesman said: “We are working closely with the EA, which has access through the west part of the site to construct their tidal barrier.

“The construction of the solar park is not dependent on the tidal barrier being completed, and the key factor for confirming time-scales for building the solar park is approval of a grid connection by National Grid.”