Rural experts at Midland law firm mfg Solicitors have advised on a major solar park scheme near Evesham which will provide clean energy to local homes and businesses.

Renewables legal specialists at the firm assisted the owner of Bypass Nurseries on the 25-year lease of the solar park and other legal agreements, including the specialist funding documents required to get the project off the ground in Aldington.

The firm also had to work to a tight timescale to meet an exchange deadline of April 1 - the point at which incentives and government support for large scale solar power projects was dramatically reduced.

The new solar park is spread across 19 acres of land and has been developed by Sunderland-based Sun Spirit.

The nursery grows a variety of plants and shrubs but is now also home to 16,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels generating 3.6MW a year.

It is expected the power from the solar park will meet around one per cent of local demand.

Stewart Smith, an associate within with mfg's agricultural and rural affairs team, said: "It was fantastic for our renewables team to be part of a such an important local project.

"Wychavon District Council are to be commended for having a forward-thinking approach to renewable energy and for giving this development the green light when they did. Schemes like this are less likely to go ahead in the future as the Government continues to cut incentives for solar PV projects.

"Many local homes and businesses will now be supplied by a safe, clean and renewable source of energy for many years to come. Our landowner client will also receive a strong, secure rental return for 25 years."

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