HUNDREDS of solar panels are to be added to the grounds of the historic St Giles House at Creech Hill, Wimborne St Giles.

Almost 400 extra panels will be installed in the walled kitchen garden, largely out of sight of the main house, a Grade 2 listed building dating back to the 17th Century.

The Earl of Shaftesbury says the panels will help with power costs at the property and, in addition, fit in with Dorset Council’s declared climate emergency. The estate’s first application for a small solar panel installation was approved in 2011 at one end of the garden. The new application is for four regularly spaced rows of south facing ground mounted solar panels amounting to 384 individual panels, arranged to the south of the existing array, with a system capacity of 154kW.

Cables from the new panels will run to an existing inverter located in the north west corner of the walled garden, the inverter housed within an overlap timber boarded enclosure.

Historic England say that with the panels only visible from the walled garden any ‘harm’ to the listed building and its ground would be minor and have not raised an objection. Dorset Council’s Conservation Officer made similar comments in response to the application.