A £40 million solar farm spanning 290 acres and generating enough electricity to power 26,000 homes has been proposed.

JBM solar wants to build the plant on farmland northwest of Sittingbourne.

It would be located alongside Raspberry Hill Lane and cover land between Lower Halstow and Iwade and could save 1,500,000 tonnes of carbon over traditional fossil fuel energy production methods, it is claimed.

JBM Solar was established in 2012 and has already secured consent for 575MW of renewable solar schemes in the UK, with sites mostly in the west of the country and in Wales and Ireland.

Its latest proposal, to be called the Raspberry Solar Park will also bring additional benefits, it says.

For example, the poorly maintained footpaths which cross the site will be enhanced and widened to up to 10 metres in width, and given educational boards detailing local wildlife and scenery.

The company also proposes to encourage visits to the countryside by installing picnic benches and an outdoor classroom/workspace for the use by local schools and community groups.

And it promises to plant 11 acres of new wild-flower meadows with butterfly and bee habitats, native hedgerows and trees.

All the existing hedgerows and trees are to be preserved with an extra 3.5km of hedgerow planted to help screen views of the solar panels.

As a bonus, the company is offering to provide 50kw of free rooftop solar energy for any school, community building or church in the area.

The solar park will be designed to last 40 years, and it will then be removed and the site will return to farmland.

The company says construction will cost £40m and take six months.

Before it submits a formal planning application to Swale Borough Council, the JBM Solar is seeking the views of residents in a public consultation that runs until January 13.

JBM said its projects had a 95% success rate at securing planning permission, which it attributed to listening in advance to residents' views.

Project manager Robin Johnson said: "We will be creating a fantastic community asset and we believe that consultation is the key to gaining public support."

View the firm's plans here. Questions can be emailed to info@raspberrysolar.farm or call Mr Johnson on 07901270413.