Bishampton

Solar Farm

Aura Power have been granted planning permission for a solar farm on land to north of Broad Lane, near Bishampton, Worcestershire. The proposed location falls within the district of Wychavon, and the parish of Bishampton. The solar farm will have a capacity of 30MW and will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 7,812 typical homes, thereby saving 9,738 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year.

Solar energy is a proven technology in decarbonising power generation and securing the supply of energy; priorities strongly supported by UK government, policy, and the public.

The proposal is to install a solar farm that would be entirely self-funded, and devoid of any government subsidy. Furthermore, by increasing the volume of clean energy in the electricity market, this and other solar farms will help contribute to keep energy prices as low as possible.

As a local business, our solar farm will also be contributing over £50,000 in business rates to Wychavon District Council every year. Furthermore, Aura is proposing to set up a Community Benefit Fund of £350 per MW per year (index-linked), for the lifetime of the solar farm. This could amount to £10,500 a year for 35 years or over £360,000 in total to be spent on used for social and environmental community projects. £1,000 a year would be set aside for educational sessions with the local school and site visits to the solar farm. We are also proposing wildflower, trees and hedgerow planting which will improve local biodiversity.

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Latest News

Since submitting our plans in October last year, we have worked with the planning officer on improving our site design, taking on board the comments from local residents and statutory consultees. These improvements include:

  • reducing the height of the panels
  • opening up of footpaths
  • relocation and reduction in size of substation
  • provision of surface water management measures
  • additional ecological enhancement area

The application was granted consent at the Wychavon District Council Committee Meeting on Thursday 27th May 2021.

Construction is not due to commence until at least the Summer of 2022 and will update this page once this is confirmed.

Wychavon District Council planning application number 20/02071/FUL

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Jul 2020

We held a Pre-Planning Public Consultation Webinar and Q&A session event where we outlined the proposal and took questions from the local community. A recording of this webinar is available to watch at the top of this page.

Aug 2020

Finalise Proposed Design. We considered all community feedback from the Public Consultation before finalising the design, ready for submission.

Oct 2020

The Planning Application was submitted.

May 2021

Planning Decision. The application was granted consent at the Wychavon District Council Committee Meeting on Thursday 27th May 2021.

Apr 2022

Construction (if approved). Construction expected to take around 12 weeks and will begin no earlier than Spring 2022. The local community will be notified in advanced once construction dates are confirmed.

Key Facts & Benefits

9738

tonnes of CO2 saved every year

Based upon 340 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh for electricity supplied by gas, published by DBEIS (28th March 2019) 2018 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Provisional Figures Statistical Release: National Statistics.

28624

equivalent number of homes powered with electricity

Based on figures from DECC 2019 average household electricity consumption figures for the West Midlands.

7812

MWh (net) of electricity every year.

Using a Solar Radiation Database (source: https://www.rensmart.com/Maps) figure of 3.33kwh/m2/day, a candidate solar panel irradiation efficiency of 15.1% and 10% array losses.

Contributes to local and national targets
in biodiversity
Local School Visits

Through engaging with the local community and listening to local feedback, we made substantial changes to the site design. We will continue to work with the local parish council and community through the next phases of construction and operation.

Continued consultation

Our Proposal

Proposal Update

Whilst offering ecological benefits locally, we understand that solar farms can represent a change to the landscape.

Since submitting our plans in October last year, we have worked on improving our site design, taking on board the comments from local residents and statutory consultees. These improvements include:

  • reducing the height of the panels
  • opening up of footpaths
  • relocation and reduction in size of substation
  • provision of surface water management measures
  • additional ecological enhancement area

Our studies have shown that any impacts will be avoided as far as possible, and mitigated where not. The land will continue to be used for food production, with sheep grazing likely to be administered by the current landowners.

Why Here?

The site has been selected because:

  • With appropriate mitigation, a solar farm here can have a relatively low impact on the nearby area.
  • We have secured a suitable connection to the electricity grid nearby.
  • The site is naturally well-screened, almost entirely screened by tall hedgerows.
  • There are good levels of sunlight (solar irradiation) in this part of the country.
  • There is good access to the site.

Projected Views

Contact Us

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.

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