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'Biggest' floating solar farm approved for dock

Ivan Morris PoxtonLocal Democracy Reporting Service
News imageGY 1900 Ltd A computer-generated image showing a woman looking across a redeveloped dock complex. She stands on the left behind a green railing overlooking the deep-blue water of the dock. To the right are rows of closely packed dark-blue solar panels. In the background, redeveloped warehouses, modern buildings and small boats can be seen.GY 1900 Ltd
The floating solar farm is expected to be bigger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium

Plans have been approved for what is being touted as the biggest floating solar farm in the UK.

It is set to be included in the £100m redevelopment the Grade II-listed Ice Factory complex at Grimsby docks.

The project had already been granted permission for a 1,000-seat events venue, a conference centre, offices and a 161-bedroom hotel.

Developer Tom Shutes, from GY 1900 Ltd, said the solar farm and other renewable resources would provide free heating and power to tenants of the site for 25 years.

The floating solar panels would cover an area larger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

News imageWaugh Thistleton Architects A large red-brick factory building from the late Victorian age, with glass windows of various shapes and sizes dotted along its length. Two green industrial conveyers, repurposed as bridges, cross high above a road, connecting the building to a structure on the other side. People walk and cycle beneath them.Waugh Thistleton Architects
The Ice Factory project envisages retaining original features, such as the conveyers

The proposals also include a public outdoor swimming pool, a marine centre, restaurants and a development hub for offshore wind and maritime research.

The Ice Factory was built in 1900 to make crushed ice for Grimsby's trawler fleet. It closed in 1990.

Redevelopment is likely to take three years to complete, but some tenants could start moving in next year.

Mr Shutes said he was "thrilled" to win planning permission for the solar farm.

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