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Aura Power is developing a solar farm project on land near Stambridge, Essex.
If approved, Barton Hall Solar Farm will be built without subsidy and would generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 18,000 homes, saving over 15,000 tonnes of carbon entering the atmosphere each year compared with electricity generated by gas.
The UK Government has promised to triple current levels of solar capacity by 2030, which is critical in decarbonising our electricity grid.
Solar power is one of the cheapest, most readily-deployable energy sources we have, and it will be a key part of achieving homegrown, clean power by 2030.
This solar farm offers a number of benefits locally with net gains in biodiversity and a community benefit fund of £20,000 a year for the lifetime of the solar farm, offered to support local social, educational and environmental projects.
As a local business, the development will be contributing over £100,000 in business rates to Rochford Council every year as well as providing local green jobs.
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September 2026 - Thank you to everyone who attended our consultation events on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th September.
We are grateful to everyone who took the time to attend, share their views and provide feedback and suggestions. Your input is important to us and will help us refine our proposals as we continue to develop the project.
We intend to present our updated proposals to the local community later this year and will provide further information about this in due course.
The consultation materials presented at the events are available in the Local Community section of this website.
Stage 1 Public Consultation - Initial plans presented to the local community to gain feedback to help shape our plans ahead of submitting a planning application.
Stage 2 Public Consultation - Refined plans presented to the local community accounting for local feedback
Planning application submitted to Rochford Council. We will work with the Council's Planning Officers and Statutory Consultees to bring forward a project that can be recommended for approval.
We hope for a decision on the planning application by Rochford Council.
If approved we will work to prepare the project for construction which we anticipate to begin in Spring 2028
Anticipated energisation date
equivalent number of homes powered every year
tonnes of CO2 saved every year
equivalent number of electric cars powered every year
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Engaging with local people is crucial to getting our project right.
We are holding a two-stage consultation to listen to local views and help shape our plans.
Thank you to everyone who attended our consultation events on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th September.
We are grateful to everyone who took the time to attend, share their views and provide feedback and suggestions. We recognise that this is a particularly sensitive site for the local community, and we are committed to working constructively with local residents to ensure we get the design right.
The consultation materials presented at the events are available in the 'Useful Links' box and the recorded webinar can be viewed below.
Please complete our short feedback form here
If you have any suggestions for the design please add them to the links below:
Click here for substation site
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the project further, please contact the project team at bartonhallsolarfarm@aurapower.com or 0117 217 1971.
We will use feedback from this consultation, alongside our ongoing technical and environmental studies, to develop a more detailed proposal. We will return later this year to share our updated plans and show how feedback received during this consultation has helped shape the project.
Consulting with the community is an ongoing process and we will continue to update you on the progress of our plans. We welcome further discussions should you wish to share any ideas for improvements to the design or have any concerns we can address.
OUR PLANS ARE STILL BEING DEVELOPED
We are working with local landowners to develop this project. Our focus is on developing this project sensitively to allow for maximum local benefits such as clean energy generation and biodiversity enhancements, whilst minimising impacts.
We want your feedback so we can consider how we can:
We have already undertaken a number of technical studies and further work is ongoing. We expect to have more information available at our next consultation event, when we will share a more developed proposal.
Our focus is on developing this project sensitively, minimising impacts and maximising local benefits.
We want to hear from you about what you think we should consider as we develop the project further.
Solar farms are proven to have a positive impact on biodiversity and nature recovery as evidenced by a recent study on solar farms in the UK by Solar Energy UK. To view the full report please click here.
WHY HERE?
We have carefully considered the location of the proposed solar farm and have identified this site as a suitable location because it:
We want to hear from you about what you think we should consider as we develop the project further.
CONSTRUCTION & ACCESS
• Our construction route is intended to access the solar farm via Rochford, and Hampton Barns Lane.
• Our construction route is intended to access the substation via Rochford, and Stambridge Road.
• Peak construction traffic will take place in the first couple of months
• Local residents along the route will be notified in advance
• A Construction and Traffic Management Plan will be prepared and agreed with the Council prior to construction
Your feedback is very important to us. Please leave a comment and one of our project team will get back to you as soon as possible.
30 Queen Square
Penthouse Office
Bristol BS1 4ND
+44 (0) 117 214 1982
Designed by The SourdoughPenthouse Office
30 Queen Square
Bristol BS1 4ND
+44 (0) 117 214 1982