FARMER David Guest has put forward plans to build a solar farm on a portion of his land.

The Guest family have been dairy farming at Tump Farm, Sedbury for three generations and for more than 100 years with David following his father into the business. A fourth generation could well follow since David's grandson is studying at the Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester.

David said: "I was just 19 when my father died and the landowner gave me the chance to buy the farm, it's been my livelihood ever since.

"Lots of farmers are having to diversify these days and a solar park could help guarantee the future of our farm into the next generation after my sons retire.

"We've provided milk for millions of people down the years and now we can use around 32 acres of our land to put some electricity back into the National Grid. And we could farm some sheep on the land as well.

'We've been warned to expect power cuts this winter due to a need for more electricity in the National Grid, so I want to do my bit to prevent that happening in future.'

The solar farm could power more than 1,250 homes and help reduce the nation's carbon footprint by 2,150 tons of CO2 a year.

'Farming is hard work, but we love it and it's been good to us.

'But margins have got very tight and farmers need to diversify. When you think a litre of water costs more than a litre of milk then you can see the issues we have.

'When I bought the farm after my father died I was just 19 and didn't have anything, so had nothing to lose.

'I like the way the commissioned renewable energy company are thinking about ways to improve the solar park site.

'They have in place a decommissioning bond to ensure the land is returned to its present state.'

'When I looked into the green energy opportunities around I felt that a solar farm would be brilliant and the Green Energy UK Direct people have been absolutely fantastic.

David's wife, Josephine supports the plans, saying: 'It's not overlooked by the nearby houses and could put so much energy back into the community.

'I can only see good things coming from it and I am delighted that the land can have such a

worthwhile use.'

Former technology teacher Arthur Bell, 60, who has worked on the project for Green Energy UK Direct with David, said: 'We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to help Tump Farm continue making a contribution to the local community.

'David is a real down to earth chap and it's been a pleasure liaising with him on the scheme that should provide a much needed boost for the National Grid.'

The Cheshire-based company has a corporate social responsibility policy that sees them engage in energy-saving projects with communities they are involved with, and with that in mind they intend to put solar panels on three local schools if the Tump Farm scheme is approved. The firm would welcome other inquiries from community groups in the area with ideas about energy-saving schemes via their email at [email protected]">[email protected].

There will be a drop-in public consultation session at Tidenham War Memorial Hall on Tuesday 6th January 2015 between 4.30pm and 8pm for local residents to hear more about the plans.