Barton Willmore advises on solar farm planning

The Leeds office of planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore, now Stantec, has helped secure planning permission for a solar farm with the potential to power almost 10,000 homes.The consultancy provided specialist advice to clean energy specialist Enviromena on its application to develop a 24MW solar farm in the West Country.Planning permission has been granted for Enviromena to construct and operate a development consisting of more than 45,000 solar modules on a 90-acre site near to the M5 motorway in Bridgwater, Somerset, for the next 40 years.Once operational, the solar farm will generate enough energy to power up to 9,750 homes and will save about 6,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.James Hall, partner at Barton Willmore, now Stantec, said: “Solar energy plays a vital role in the UK’s transition to Net Zero and its move towards securing domestic sources of energy with increasing amounts of investment being put into the sector.”There are many benefits of solar farms relative to other renewable energy options in the UK, but the planning framework for solar farm development is complex and requires careful handling.”As a result, solar farm developers often need the benefit of specialist planning advice to secure the permission they need to bring their plans to fruition.”We’re delighted to be working with Enviromena on their exciting development plans and look forward to working with them in the future.”Barton Willmore has helped to secure planning permission for solar farms in locations, including Teesside, Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire.