Overview
Cura Terrae undertook an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a proposed 35MW solar farm on approximately 49 hectares of agricultural Green Belt land located between Nottingham and Derby in south Derbyshire. The Proposed Development responds to both the UK Government’s and the Local Planning Authority’s support for solar energy by providing a renewable energy supply that will reduce carbon emissions and assist in establishing a greater diversity of energy sources in the UK.
The EIA and associated Environmental Statement (ES) addressed the potential for significant effects on landscape and visual amenity, cultural heritage, ecology, transport and land and soils. In addition, we undertook standalone assessments for noise, arboriculture, flood risk and drainage and prepared the Planning Design and Access Statement to support the panning application.
The Client
Abei Energy is an Independent Power Producer (IPP) with over 17 years of experience operating throughout Europe and the Americas, developing a wide range of renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, green hydrogen and BESS from site identification and project inception, to permitting, construction and operation.
The organisation focuses on the generation of clean energy from renewable sources, managing the renewable energy value chain from inception through to operation and to and make an important contribution towards national and international net zero goals.
The Challenge
Particular challenges the project faced included:
- Meeting the very special circumstances requirement to allow development on Green Belt land;
- Integrating the proposed development into the rolling rural landscape, to minimise impacts on the landscape character and the scattered residential properties in the area;
- Maintaining public access to, and minimising impacts on, Public Rights of Way crossing and in close proximity to the site;
- Minimising impacts on historic environment receptors, with the Dale Abbey Conservation Area being located just 30m north of the site, the Hermitage Scheduled Monument located approximately 70m north of the Site and the Church of All Saints Grade I Listed Building located in Dale Abbey to the north of the Site; and
- Minimising impacts on protected species and habitats and achieving a net gain for biodiversity.
The Solution
The Proposed Development will be designed to respect the character of the landscape and use the existing field boundaries to integrate into the landscape as far as practicable. All existing trees and hedgerows around the Site perimeter will be retained and additional planting will be provided, where necessary, to fill gaps in the existing vegetation. Strategic planting will be implemented to assist in the general screening of the Proposed Development.
Buffers will be left between the solar PV panel arrays and any retained boundary hedgerows. These will be seeded with native wildflower and bird seed mix to encourage biodiversity on Site.
Creation of a mosaic of retained and newly created habitats including trees, scrubs, woodland, hedgerow and wildflower grassland. Additional biodiversity enhancement features, such as bird boxes, hibernacula and wood piles, will be included within the design to further encourage biodiversity on Site.
The mitigation design also included:
- Exclusion from the site boundary of an area on the northern boundary of the site to increase separation from Hermit’s Wood and the Hermitage Scheduled Monument therein.
- The inclusion of a buffer either side of public rights of way to maintain an overall feeling of openness for users.
- The inclusion of 2m high deer fencing around the site, which will be more rustic in appearance compared to other types of fencing and would have a gap at the bottom to allow the passage of small mammals.
- Avoidance of root protection zones of trees and hedgerows and the inclusion of a minimum 10m buffer to trees with bat roost potential.
- The inclusion of a minimum 10m buffer from the Proposed Development to the watercourses located within the site.
Client Benefits
Our close collaborative approach with Abei Energy in developing the design and mitigation measures ensured that significant environmental effects were avoided where possible and otherwise kept to a minimum. This is set out in a clear and proportionate Environmental Statement, summarised in the Non-Technical Summary.
The site will be retained in agricultural use, with sheep being allowed to graze beneath and between the solar panels. The incorporation of the mitigation measures proposed integrates the site into the landscape and retains the rural landscape character with public right of way access maintained and achieves an overall net gain for biodiversity.
Client Testimonial
Abei UK Permitting Manager Stewart Lovesey praised Cura Terrae for our “Great communication, reactiveness to questions / queries, and delivery of products to programme.”, going on to say “The Cura Terrae project team are a pleasure to work with and we will hopefully continue this relationship with projects in the future.”
