Enviromena given green light from BCP Council for solar farm on land off Parley Green Lane in Parley
A solar farm generating enough annual power for over 18,500 homes has been given the go-ahead despite opposition from two parish councils.
The 66-hectare facility will be developed in Parley after plans by clean energy firm Enviromena were approved by BCP Council.
The Reading-based firm says the solar project on greenbelt land off Parley Green Lane is its largest in the UK to date and represents a “major milestone”.
Saving more than 9,500 tonnes of carbon per year, the site is expected to produce over 51,000MW of green energy a year – enough to power more than 18,500 homes.
Mark Harding, European development director at Enviromena, praised BCP Council for its “proactive approach when it comes to climate change driven initiatives”.
“It’s fantastic to see a local authority that is so forward-thinking,” he said. “The fact is the site will help to address both local and national renewable energy targets.”
The solar farm, located south of the B3073 and north of the River Stour, will be in place for 40 years. Construction is expected to take around six months and, once installed, the site will “require infrequent visits”.
At the end of the solar farm’s four decades of life, the site will be restored back to “full agricultural use”, with all equipment and below-ground connections removed.
A report by BCP Council officers, who approved the application under delegated powers, stated there would be “minimal works to or loss of the existing trees and hedgerows within the site”.
The report said national planning policy was being driven by a growing need to meet electricity demand, which is predicted to double in the UK by 2050. This was, in part, due to the “electrification of vehicles and increased use of clean electricity replacing gas for heating”, officers said.
“The government expects future low-cost, net-zero consistent electricity to be made up of prominent onshore and offshore wind and solar, complemented by technologies which provide power or reduce demand when the wind is not blowing, or the sun does not shine,” stated the report.
However, the scheme was opposed by Hurn and West Parley parish councils, which said the farm’s location in a flood plain could lead to “increased flooding along the River Stour”.
Concerns were also raised about harm to the greenbelt, visual impact and encroachment on the countryside.
However, the Environment Agency had “continually stressed that there should be no increase in flood risk as a result of the development”, and officers ruled the “public benefits of the proposal are of sufficient magnitude to outweigh the substantial harm found to the greenbelt”.
The decision comes after the New Forest National Park Authority refused Enviromena’s plans for a 25-acre site at Netley Marsh, a decision which the firm said “smacks of hypocrisy given the national park’s net zero targets”.
