KCC's solar farm project at Kings Hill is in trouble.

It is running over budget and behind schedule.

Construction at the Blaise Farm site is already well under way using a £4.1m grant from the Government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

But the timeline for completion has slipped by 17 weeks and the expected costs have risen to £5,044,000.

As a result KCC's cabinet for the environment, Cllr Susan Carey (Con), is being asked to allocate an extra £878,000 to complete the project.

However, there is some good news.

When completed, the solar park is expected to provide 7% of KCC’s electrical needs, and despite the extra funding now required, the business case for the park has actually grown more favourable.

The solar panels being installed are expected to last for 40 years, but originally, the authority had only modelled for 30 years.

The extra 10 years of supply, coupled with the rising energy costs since the project was first adopted, means the authority will save more money in the long run.

The farm is now expected to save £360,000 in energy costs in its first year of operation and an annual equivalent of £330,000 per year for the remaining life of the park.

There are several reasons for the overspend.

Initially there was a delay with the land purchase and by the time that was completed, the calendar had slipped into the bird-breeding season and no work could be carried out.

It was also realised there was a need for an unexploded ordnance survey as the land is very close to the former wartime West Malling RAF station.

Two unexploded bombs had been found on land nearby in 2019, which had required the Army being called in to detonate them.

No bombs were found on the Kings Hill site, but tests did unearth a Second World War bunker in one corner of the field, as well as underground water pipes and electricity cables which KCC had not expected to be there.

KCC's finances are strained at present, and the council leader Cllr Roger Gough has warned of a £50m hole in its budget and the need for cost savings to balance its books.

But if the authority were to abandon the project at this stage, it would likely have to hand back the initial grant, as well as incurring costs estimated at £200,000 from aborting contracts with the builders.

The solar farm is accessed from Quarryman's Road.

It sits on the site of a former pig farm and is close to the Kent Scientific Services building in Abbey Wood Road, West Malling.

The PV solar panels are being installed at ground level and experts say when in operation they will save more than 633 tonnes of carbon generation per year.

The date for completion is now next June.