A Cheshire hotel wants to turn its disused tennis courts into a solar array to provide it with low-carbon energy.

Rowton Hall Hotel & Spa in Chester has lodged an application with Cheshire West and Chester Council for new type of what it called 'low profile' ground sited array on disused courts to the rear of the site.

The 340 panels would be sited on ground-mounted frames covering an area of 0.27 acres. The design would be intended to sit close to the ground so there would be 'no visual impact' on neighbouring properties.

A planning statement submitted on behalf of the hotel said the array was designed to offset the electricity consumption on the site and was not designed to supply excess power to the national grid.

The report said: "The client wishes to offset some of their existing electrical consumption to increase energy security and thus protect the business from exposure to increasing grid-supplied costs and in the process provide future stability and profitability. The client is also keen to lower their carbon footprint, and they should be applauded for this motivation."

The report said the sector was hit when wider global issues triggered a doubling in electricity costs, adding that being in control of energy costs was critical to future business planning, expansion and ongoing trade.

The hotel is on the fringes of the village of Rowton and is largely surrounded by farmland. The report added: "Instead of designing the installation over a two row-high array (3.3m high) it has been decided to utilise brand-new low-profile framing technology to provide an installation that sits no more than 350mm from the ground."

It said the installation would produce and use up to 130,000 units of electricity a year for free while saving 30-tonnes of carbon per annum.