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 also 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.
Landscape Plan
Click to view
Skylark Mitigation Strategy
Click to view