SOLAR panels could be installed at Malvern's hospital in new plans.

An application has been submitted to the district council seeking permission to install 148 solar panels on the roof of Malvern Community Hospital.

If approved, the panels would be installed to the south-facing roof of the building generating around 58,000 kWh of power.

The panels would be approximately 6ft by 4ft in size and would be installed along the length of the building.

The plans were submitted to Malvern Hills District Council on Friday,  April 1, with the consultation running until Wednesday,  April 27 allowing residents to have their say.

A spokesperson for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "We are committed to creating and embedding sustainable models of care and ensuring our operations and our estate are as efficient, sustainable and resilient as they can be.

"As part of our strategy to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with utility consumption, we plan to expand the number of our sites generating energy from renewable sources such as solar panels, an initiative already in place at Hill Crest in Redditch, New Haven, Church View and New Brook in Bromsgrove, and Tenbury Community Hospital.

"This, alongside projects and activities detailed in our new Green Plan, will support the Trust and wider NHS in achieving its target of becoming ‘Net Zero’ by 2040."

Other hospitals in the region have solar panels installed, including Tenbury Community Hospital.

Tenbury's system was designed by Mypower and generates around 27,778 kWh of electricity

This, it says, helps the hospital avoid more than seven tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

On the Mypower website, it claims the system would pay for itself in six years with the hospital having avoided buying around 27,000 kWh.

Saving energy and moving to greener power sources has been on the agenda in Malvern for a number of years.

Back in 2019, MHDC approved its Carbon Zero plans, which aim to make the district carbon neutral by 2030.

The plans can be viewed at https://plan.malvernhills.gov.uk/Planning/Display/M/22/00523/GPJ