Ford Prison could soon be running on solar power

The Ministry of Justice has applied to Arun District Council for a 239.2MWh Solar Photovoltaic (PV) generation system at the prison in Ford Road.

Instructed by the MoJ, Cushman and Wakefield said there would be five panels comprising 124 modules and the panels would be no more than three metres high.

The site would be surrounded by an access road and a mesh fence enclosure.

Plans included installing three bat boxes, three bird boxes and an invertebrate habitat, along with grassland and hedgerow.

The statement said the MoJ had been awarded funding to invest in low carbon technologies on its estates to enable post Covid-19 recovery and reduce carbon emissions.

The MoJ was focusing its spend on the installation of ground mounted photovoltaic panels on its land.

An initial feasibility exercise was carried out to prioritise sites where a substantial benefit could be achieved both for the MoJ and the local authority in addressing its own environmental challenges.

HMP Ford was identified as a priority site.

To view the plans go to the Arun District Council planning portal and use the reference F/16/21/PL.