Story by Ian Duncan - Local Democracy Reporting Service and Dan Hunt - Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans for a solar farm which is currently the subject of a public consultation have been lodged with a council.

The proposed facility would be located on a 19.3-hectare site near Askam, Cumbria, north of the existing Roanhead Solar Farm, the proposal to Westmorland and Furness Council said.

The project would be operational for 40 years, with the applicant Noventum Power Ltd claiming it would "make a valuable contribution to the generation of electricity at a local level".

Meanwhile, in Wigton, plans to replace an existing set of roof-mounted solar panels were approved by Cumberland Council.

The solar farm development includes new access tracks, underground cabling, perimeter fencing, CCTV cameras and other ancillary grid infrastructure, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

During the six-month construction it was expected that there would be more than 160 deliveries to the site by heavy good vehicles, but these would avoid peak traffic periods along Lots Road.

Solar panels absorb sunlight through photovoltaic cells which convert it into electricity© BBC

On Friday, Cumberland Council approved plans to replace an existing set of roof-mounted panels in Wigton.

The application was for a new ground mount system consisting of 60 440w panels at Newbiggin Grange in Torpenhow.

The council said it was also reviewing an application for solar panels on a building which forms part of Grade II-listed Eden Mount in Wetheral.

The proposal involves installing 20 in-roof solar PVs as well as repairs and re-roofing parts of The Retreat, which once served as servants' quarters.

The report states Eden Mount was built in 1872 for a tea merchant and was redecorated in the early 20th Century.

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