Solar panels plan near ‘Robin Hood grave’

Plans have been submitted to fit more than 200 solar panels in parkland close to the reputed site of Robin Hood’s grave.

Calderdale Council is set to consider the proposal to put the panels on the roof of Pickersgill Home Farm in Clifton, near Brighouse, in West Yorkshire.

The farm lies within Kirklees Park, which is believed to be the final resting place of the legendary outlaw, according to Historic England.

Although the farm is not a listed property, the park is also home to Grade I listed Kirklees Hall and the medieval ruins of Kirklees Priory.

A monument in the grounds of Kirklees Park claims to mark the grave of Robin Hood who, it is claimed, decided his own burial site by shooting an arrow from his death bed in the gatehouse of the priory.

Geo Green Power, which has prepared the application, said the location for the solar panels was chosen because they would not be “highly visible” from Kirklees Priory or Kirklees Hall.

Planning permission and listed building consent has been applied for as the solar panels would be fitted within one metre of the external edge of the roof and would be close to the listed properties, according to the application.

It said the panels would be capable of generating 90.2kW peak rating power and an anti-reflective coating would reduce glare.

The application will be considered by Calderdale Council at a date yet to be fixed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.