A CHEPSTOW farmer is planning a solar park on a small portion of his land which could help power more than 1,250 homes.

David Guest, 73, followed his father Charlie into dairy farming and now his two sons Andrew, 47, and Ross, 36, work on the family’s 200-plus acres and his eldest grandson Richard, 20, is studying at the Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester.

The Guests are planning to span a 100 year legacy when their youngest family farmer Richard eventually takes over at Tump Farm on Sedbury, Lane in Sedbury, Chepstow, where his great grandfather Charlie started working on the land between the two world wars last century.

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.’

Helping to save the planet for his six grandchildren aged between 20 and 18-months is of major concern for Mr Guest, who knows his solar plan could help power more than 1,250 homes and help reduce the nation’s carbon footprint by 2,150 tons of CO2 a year.

Former technology teacher Arthur Bell, 60, who has worked on the project for Green Energy UK Direct with Mr Guest, 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 liasing 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 scheme is approved. They welcome other inquiries from community groups in the area with ideas about other energy-saving schemes they could embrace via their email at sponsorship@geukdirect.com.

The company is also staging a drop-in public consultation session at Tidenham War Memorial Hall on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 between 4.30pm and 8pm.