Tackling Climate Change
As we transition to a net-zero future, reducing the impacts of climate change both locally and globally, RES' priority is to deliver clean, green electricity at the lowest cost for consumers. Analysis on electricity generation costs published by BEIS1 shows that large-scale solar, alongside onshore and offshore wind, are now the cheapest forms of electricity generation. This makes developments like Boxted Solar Farm not just good for the environment but also for the consumer.
If consented, Boxted Solar Farm would be capable of producing clean, green electricity for around 8,9002 homes every year.
The Environment
An extensive landscaping plan accompanies the planning application and proposes landscaping and planting measures including:
- New blocks of woodland to reflect the existing landscape character
- Existing hedgerow infilled wherever necessary with proposed native hedgerow species to ensure dense coverage, and maintained at a minimum height of 3.6m
- Extensive planting of native hedgerow trees across the site to reflect existing landscape features and strengthen historical field boundaries
- Flower rich grassland areas within and outside of the perimeter fencing
These landscaping measures, as well as reducing potential visibility, will provide wildlife corridors and vital resources for mammals, birds, and insect species.
A Skylark Mitigation Strategy accompanies the planning application and sets out how c. 70 acres of land will provide suitable additional habitat features to support a minimum of nine skylark territories. In addition to the skylark territories, the wildflower rich grassland will offer significantly improved foraging opportunities for skylark nesting adjacent to the solar farm, as the grassland habitats will support a larger biomass of insect prey items than the arable land they will replace.
No trees will be removed to facilitate the solar farm and bat roosting and bird nesting boxes are proposed around the site.
All of these measures combined would enable the solar farm to deliver a biodiversity net gain of 99% in habitat units and 48% in hedgerow units.
Benefiting the Local Community
RES seeks to be a power for good in the communities that neighbour its projects by working openly and constructively to ensure meaningful local benefits.
The project could deliver investment into the local economy, particularly during the construction phase when suitably qualified local firms are encouraged to bid for different aspects of construction, construction materials are sourced locally and local transport and plant hire companies used where possible, in addition to local services and amenities. Furthermore, if consented, Boxted Solar Farm would pay business rates annually for the life of the project, helping to fund vital services for all local residents.
Additional recreational benefits and enhancement of the existing Public Rights of Way network could be provided, as part of the solar farm proposal, with the creation of a permissive footpath running alongside the B1066 between Boxted Hall front drive entrance to the footpath junction at Street Farm and other footpath.
We also believe that solar farms should provide direct, lasting benefits to local communities and as part of our consultation we asked the local community for feedback and ideas on priority projects and aims in their area, which may be able to be supported as part of the proposal. Suggestions to date include essential funding for Boxted Church, Boxted Green improvements and a community orchard. We welcome people’s thoughts on these suggestions and any other ideas for community projects which could be supported.
1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6556027d046ed400148b99fe/electricity-generation-costs-2023.pdf
2 The homes figure has been calculated by taking the predicted average annual electricity generation of the site and dividing this by the annual
average electricity figures from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that the annual UK average domestic
household consumption is 3,509 kWh (Dec 2022).