THE solar farm at East Stoke could be in place for a longer time than originally planned. 

The 12MW field, on land owned by the Bond family’s Holme Estate at Stokeford Farm was originally granted planning permission in 2015 for 30 years and six months from the date construction work finished after which the panels and other equipment would have to be removed from the site. 

Dorset Council’s website does not show any of the details of the application for a variation in the original conditions but, typically, many local solar sites have asked for permissions to be extended to 40 years. 

The council website says that none of the documents with the variation of condition application are available. 

The authority says there have been some technical problems with its planning portal as it brings together sites from previous councils into a new site.

The application has the reference no 2021/05733 with the council website showing that the time for public comments on the application, has now passed. 

The application asked for seven conditions of the original consent to be varied, although it is not known what these are, and to revise the layout and drainage scheme for the site, together with increasing the period of the solar site’s operation.