A 12.5 mW solar farm at Chisbon Heath has been given planning permission, with Greenlight Environmental Consultancy having provided the landscape and visual impact advice for this project.
The development covers 15 hectares of arable land near Clacton-on-Sea and Greenlight were able to show that the development could easily be accommodated within the existing landscape features, and would in fact enhance the site’s biodiversity through a planting scheme for new hedgerows and trees.
The new planting would quickly screen any visibility of the solar farm, and the conversion of arable land to wildflower rich grassland would greatly benefit invertebrates and other animals higher up the food chain. The new habitat would not be subjected to the regular insecticide and fungicide spraying programmes of modern intensive agriculture and would greatly reduce the chemical input to the site.
Greenlight are presently working on three other solar sites, advising clients on a combination of ecological and landscape matters, to assist these developments to achieve similar benefits in enhancing biodiversity and landscape features.
