PLANS to place more than 170 solar panels on the roof of a Southampton museum have been given the go-ahead.

Aspect Energy Management has received consent to install photo-voltaic arrays at the SeaCity complex, which commemorates the 1,500 lives lost when Titanic sank in 1912.

The eco-friendly scheme will reduce the city council's carbon footprint, taking it one step closer to achieving its aim of becoming a zero-carbon authority.

SeaCity is housed in an extension to the Civic Centre, a Grade II-listed complex built between 1928 and 1939.

The application said the "modern feel" of the extension meant the panels would not look out of place.

It acknowledged they would be visible from the west but added: "To reduce the risk of visual impact the array could be reduced in size, slightly resulting in the panels finishing further away from the west walls."

The application said the panels would "significantly reduce" the amount of electricity used by the museum, resulting in fewer Co2 emissions.

"This will reduce the carbon footprint created by Southampton City Council, taking it one step closure to the goal of net-zero carbon," it said.

The application, which did not attract any letters of objection or support, has been approved by the council, subject to conditions.

A council report added: "No historic fabric would be affected and the units would be relatively hidden from the public realm from the north, south, and east.

"Although it is acknowledged that the arrays would be visible from some distance to the west, the units would be utilitarian in character and they would not appear overly prominent above the modern facade below.

"The units would be visible from within the upper floors of the civic centre itself.

"However, the impact would be relatively minor in terms of how the group of buildings is experienced as a whole. The low level of harm would be offset by the public benefits presented by the scheme in terms of reducing energy use and carbon emissions.

"The significance of the harm will be less than substantial to the character and setting of the listed building, whilst the public benefits outweigh the harm.

"As such, proposal is judged to have an acceptable impact and, therefore, can be supported."

Titanic was on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York when she sank a few hours after hitting an iceberg. More than 500 people from Southampton were among those who either drowned or died of exposure in the freezing conditions.

The museum opened on April 10 2012 to mark the centenary of the liner's ill-fated voyage.