Noventum pushes on in Cumbria and Cheshire
The energy firm is looking to develop solar farms next to the Kimberley-Clark paper mill site near Barrow-in-Furness, and at Hatherton Lodge close to Nantwich.
Cheshire East Council’s strategic planning board will this week consider plans for Noventum Power’s proposals, at Hunsterson Road. Approval is recommended.
The site in question measures slightly more than 43 acres, and is open countryside to the south-east of Nantwich. Immediately to the north-west is the Joseph Heler cheese factory.
Sitting across four fields, the solar farm would generate 12MW, which could power 6,500 homes per year. A lifespan of 40 years is the goal.
Noventum is advised by Pegasus Group and Tyler Grange.
A totally separate application was refused at the site in 2015, although the proposal was subsequently allowed at appeal. Only four representations have been received by CEC, only two of those objecting.
Visual impact on users of a nearby public right of way was a factor in the 2015 decision, and is still an issue referenced by planning officers. However, with Net Zero such a key target nationally and renewables in general increasingly prevalent, sentiment has softened. As officers summed up in the report for committee:
“While there will be some limited localised impacts from the development, most of the issues identified in the report, on for example traffic during the construction phase, or on the PROW, can be addressed through conditions, and the benefits that renewable energy bring in terms of combating climate change and helping meet Net Zero carbon emissions clearly weigh in favour of approving this application.”
The plans can be viewed on Cheshire East’s planning portal with the reference 24/5074/FUL.
Again working with Pegasus Group and Tyler Grange, Noventum has lodged a screening request with Westmorland & Furness Council as it prepares an application for the Sowerby Lodge site close to Barrow.
Noventum wants to build and operate a 12.5MW ground-mounted solar farm at the site, aiming for a lifespan of 40 years before decommissioning.
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The proposed development site, accessed from Bank Lane, extends to 52 acres and sits to the west of the Kimberley-Clark mill, south of Sowerby Wood – on the other ide of which is a waste recycling facility. South of the site is further energy infrastructure – which Pegasus points out did not require an EIA.
Noventum’s proposed site, which comes in two areas, is currently used for cattle grazing. There are no public rights of way across it, and no buildings within the red line boundary – the listed Sowerby Lodge. Sits around 50m outside of it, to the south. There are no statutory environmental designations attached to the area.
Pre-application discussions have been taking place since autumn 2024. The Sowerby Lodge proposals can be seen on the W&F planning portal with the reference BSS/2025/0100.
