Scarborough Hospital gets permission for 1,000 solar panel installation
Scarborough Hospital can install more than 1,000 solar panels on its buildings after receiving the go-ahead from North Yorkshire Council.
The installation of 1,058 solar panels across roofs on the hospital estate is set to proceed after council planners gave plans the green light.
The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had applied for formal planning permission, but the council said that prior approval was not required.
However, it did set conditions for the trust, including a requirement that the solar PV equipment must be installed in a way that minimises its effect on the external appearance of the building and the amenity of the area.
A further condition states that the equipment must be “removed as soon as reasonably practicable when no longer needed”.
The panels will cover 2,1147m² of flat and pitched roofs and could save more than 72,638kg CO2 a year.
The average UK household emits around 6,000kg of CO2 annually, according to analysis by Heatable.
The installation aims to support the trust’s targets of “achieving net zero carbon and assisting with their decarbonising agenda,” submitted plans state.
No objections to the scheme were made by the local parish council or members of the public.
Submitted plans state that on pitched roofs, the installations will not protrude further than 20cm from the surface of the sloped roof, and the panels will not be located within 1m of the roof perimeter of the eaves of the roof.
On flat roofs, the panels will be mounted on a framing system, with space beneath for sufficient air flow and will not protrude further than 1m above the highest surface of the roof, excluding any chimney.
The proposal stated that the external surfaces of the glass of the panels will be supplied with a “factory-fitted anti-reflective coating providing anti-glint and anti-glare protection”.
It added that the coating prevents the reflection of light from the surface of the panel.