Future of Corby solar park 'undecided'
Corby’s bid to house the UK’s first industrial sized solar park could be thwarted by a similar project in Cornwall, Insider has learnt. Daniel Polak, from developer BeLa Partnerships, said that plans for a 25-acre eco park within the region’s Priors Hall Park were still in “very early stages” and added that “a decision has not been made”.
Reports suggested that an industrial sized solar site would be constructed within Corby’s Priors Hall Park, on which more than 5,000 homes are currently being erected. A similar solar project is due to be built in Newquay.
Polak said: “The solar park is something we have discussed with [Corby Council chief executive] Chris Mallender, but no decision has been made yet. We are trying to make the area as sustainable as possible, and are exploring all avenues.”
The large scale solar development would provide electricity for 2,000 homes on the Priors Hall site.
BeLa Partnerships is currently working on the development of the 1,000 acre Priors Hall site.
By 2024, 5,100 homes will have been constructed in the area.
Polak said: “We are working on the project as a ‘lifestyle development’; we want people to think of the properties here as homes within a park. We are also working on a primary school in the area, which we’re aiming to open in 2012, and a walled garden for the allotments in the grounds.”
The project has been granted £20m of funding under the Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) Kickstart Scheme.
Corby has undergone huge redevelopment - the £8.3m Corby Enterprise Centre and the £30m Corby Business Academy have both recently been opened.
Polak said that the region is now able to rival its big-city neighbours Nottingham and Leicester with its regeneration and housing projects.
“There is no end to Corby’s opportunities”, said Polak. “There has been such huge investment into the area recently, it really is an exciting place to be.”
BeLa Partnerships is working on several housing projects across north Northamptonshire and will construct 25,000 homes in the region alongside partnership organisations.
