About

Green Energy and Climate Change

There is widespread awareness of the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and an encouragement to increase the generation and use of renewable energy. The UK Government has a legal obligation in relation to generating renewable energy and to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Braintree District Council signed the Nottingham Declaration in 2006. This was a voluntary pledge by Councils to tackle climate change within their area and to help the UK deliver the national climate change targets that were applicable at that time.

Braintree District Council declared a Climate Emergency on 22nd July 2019 and announced a target to be carbon neutral, as far as practical, by 2030.

The proposed solar park and battery store will make an important contribution. The proposed installed capacity will be 22.5MWp and to provide some context, that will be
enough electricity to power 5,768 homes annually and save 5,533 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Construction Management

It is proposed to access the site off Church Road using an existing field access. This access has suitable visibility splays and can accommodate the turning requirements of a 16.5m articulated vehicle. A temporary construction compound would be formed towards the northern boundary of the eastern compartment of the solar farm. Once construction is completed (estimated to take a maximum of 16 weeks) there will be minimal traffic during the operational period as the equipment needs only to be checked once or twice a month. A draft Construction Management Plan (CMP) will be submitted with the planning application and agreed with the relevant statutory consultees. This will be controlled by a planning condition, and will cover matters such as hours of construction work.

Construction Traffic will be covered in an accompanying Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP), also controlled by condition, which will confirm construction access routes that will be used and any associated traffic control measures that may be required. We are proposing that construction traffic travels south from the A120, through Cressing and Silver End.
To limit disturbance to the village, construction traffic can be manage so that it avoids school drop off and pick up times (i.e. 08:30-09:00 and 14:30-15:30). We did consider a route
from the A12, which would be shorter, but it had to be ruled out due to weight and height restrictions.

Design

We have followed an iterative design process, involving thorough analysis of the site character, and environmental and physical constraints and opportunities, drawing on desk and field work by a team of experts in landscape, heritage, hydrology, transport and planning.

We have engaged in discussions with the planning department at Braintree District Council. At that time, a larger solar farm development was being considered. This is shown on the
plan to the right.

Concerns were raised regarding the potential impact upon the setting of Rivenhall Place, a Grade II* Listed Building, and upon views across the landscape from the Public Rights of Way.
We listened to these concerns and revised the design, removing panels from the central section of the site and retaining key views from Rivenhall Place, across to Rivenhall Thicks,
the Ancient Woodland.

Landscape and Ecology

The site is currently agricultural land, predominantly arable. There are hedgerows at the boundaries of the site and a narrow block of woodland extends into the site from the corner of Church/Park Road. Hedgerows and trees not only provide habitats but are also important landscape features. They will be retained, and trees will be protected during construction.

A new hedgerow will be planted at the north-western boundary of the site. There will be additional tree planting at the eastern boundaries of both sections of the solar farm which
will provide screening of the solar farm from Church Road, the Public Right of Way and from Rivenhall Place.

Within the solar PV area a new grassland will be created and maintained to increase floristic diversity. This will help to increase pollen and nectar availability with consequent benefits for bees and other insects. The grassland between and around the panels can continue in agricultural use, and sheep grazing will help to maintain the ecological value of the grass sward.

The solar farm will be set back from Rivenhall Thicks and within this stand-off area, the vegetation will be left to regenerate naturally and there may be the opportunity for the additional sowing of grasses and other appropriate native plant species.

The ecological measures included in the scheme have been preliminary calculated to provide a Biodiversity Net Gain score which exceeds the level expected in the Environment Bill currently going through Parliament.