After hours of gruelling debate recently ended in a deferral, frustrated residents in one part of Leicestershire say they are living in the “capital of solar farms”. New documents reveal that even more sites are being eyed for development, threatening to swell a green energy footprint that already spans 800 football pitches.
Melton Borough Council’s (MBC) Plans Committee met on May 14 to discuss the latest application for a renewable project in the borough. However, after two hours of debate, members agreed to defer the application until more information is received.
The news came as borough residents said they were being overwhelmed with solar farm developments, with one objector to this recent application, Brian Kettel, writing that Melton is fast becoming “the rural capital of solar farms, not the rural capital of food”.
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Council documents obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show there are already 580 hectares – or 800 football pitches – worth of solar farms in the borough, and more applications are expected.
With 14 sites already built, awaiting the green light, or marked for development, below is all the green-field sites which could, or have already been, made into solar farms.
The subject of the council’s most recent planning meeting, this proposal would see 81 hectares of land east of Freeby Lane developed.
Around a fifth of the space marked is classed as “best and most versatile” agricultural land, while around three-quarters is classed as “moderate quality”. Two tenant farmers would lose the land as a source of income if plans went ahead, although sheep would still be able to graze beneath the panels.
With potential to power 10,000 homes, the applicant, Tony Gannon, head of Downing Renewable Developments LLP, told councillors this proposal helps counter the “increasing threat” to energy security nationally and that there is a “clear and urgent” need for developments of this sort.
However, following the deferral, its future remains up in the air.
Also awaiting permission are two developments North of the village of Brentingby and East of Woodfold Lane.
Received in December 2024 and July 2025, the applications would involve more than 75 hectares of land being used for solar energy.
On the other side of Melton town, proposals to develop land at Welby Grange Farm are pending.
Although the plans have attracted dozens of objections from neighbours, like several other sites, positive representations actually outnumber them.
However, among the commenters is the National Grid, who submitted a holding objection in January 2026 because the site overlaps with their plans for an overhead line between Weston Marsh and East Leicestershire.
The site at Welby Grange Farm sits North-East of a solar farm which has been operational since permission was granted in 2015.
East of Welby Lane, the project ranks as the smallest and least powerful site currently listed by the borough council, at just 3.8MW.
Along the border with Charnwood, two solar farms are currently operational and a further two have been granted permission.
The oldest of all the schemes sits next to Six Hills Road in Ragdale, and is set to be extended by 44 hectares according to an approved application.
A modest build next to Paddy’s Lane has been operational since 2016, and land at Leicester Road, Twyford, has also been given the green light for development.
The second largest solar farm in the borough, the development at Stygate Lane, Pickwell, was granted permission following some confusion around neighbour’s letters of support.
There had been 53 objections about the scheme and 229 letters of support. But MBC revealed in a report to the plans committee that all but one of the letters of support actually came from a form handed out to residents by consultants working on behalf of the developer.
Nonetheless, the 87-hectare farm was given the green light in October 2025, and formally granted permission in May 2026 after further work to finalise arrangements for long-term biodiversity monitoring, according to Lydia Rusling, Director for Place and Prosperity at MBC.
The subject of another lengthy planning meeting, the land East of Jericho Covert was approved for development in August 2022, despite attracting almost 250 letters of objection from neighbours.
Currently under construction, the farm has a capacity of 49.9 megawatts, the highest a project can have without being classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure project.
Perhaps the borough’s most controversial build, and certainly the largest, the solar farm south of the A52 will span almost 100 hectares.
MBC actually refused this applicant planning permission in September 2023, but following a successful appeal to the Planning Inspector, the scheme was approved in February 2025.
In the appeal decision notice, the inspector said that “significant weight” should be given to “the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation” and the proposal’s “contribution to a net zero future”.
A formal application is yet to be received for two new sites South-East of Stapleford, but MBC is anticipating them.
A developer submitted a request to the council, asking if the project would need an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). MBC concluded the project would not cause significant adverse environmental impacts.
A spokesperson for MBC said: “Melton Borough Council is committed to supporting renewable and low‑carbon energy in line with national policy and the UK’s ambition to reach net zero.
“We carefully consider every planning application on its own merits, balancing the benefits of clean energy with impacts on landscape, heritage and ecology.
“This approach ensures that appropriate developments can move forward while protecting the character of our local area, with only those proposals that meet planning standards being approved.”
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