Community benefit from Says Court Solar Farm

When planning permission was granted for Says Court Solar Farm, Westerleigh Parish Council negotiated a Community Benefit of £19,000 per year for the life of the solar farm (expected to be 25 years).

As part of this agreement, the Parish Council will work with Avon Wildlife Trust to implement two wildlife habitats adjacent to the solar farm. This agreement lasts for five years and includes an education programme, community engagement, wildlife walks, monitoring and management advice.

You can find out more and suggest ideas for spending the money on the Parish Council website.

Solar Farm connected in time

Last week the Says Court Solar Farm (pictured here from the Bristol to Yate train) was connected just in time to secure the higher rate of Community Benefit for Westerleigh Parish. Under the agreement, some of the money has to be used in conjunction with Avon Wildlife Trust for on site ecological improvements. The rest will be used for environmental projects in the Parish.

Says Court Solar Farm construction

Earlier in the month, Westerleigh Parish Council and ward councillor Claire Young met representatives of AEE Renewables, who applied for planning permission for Says Court Solar Farm, and Sun Edison, the company that are going to construct and run it. The meeting was prompted by residents' concerns that some test piling had taken place outside the hours allowed by the planning permission.

Sun Edison apologised for that and gave assurances that they would be sticking to the permitted working hours (08:00 until 18:00 Monday to Friday, and 08:00 until 13:00 on Saturday with no Sunday or Bank Holiday working). Work was due to start this week, with the main task being to construct the on site roads need during the construction phase. The noisiest phase will be the piling, planned to start in the last week of January and last for approximately 3 weeks.

You can find out more, including the presentation they gave, on their blog. Keep an eye on it for news on the progress of the works. It all needs to be finished by the end of March because then the subsidies go down (and with it the level of community benefit).

Says Court Solar Farm approved

This afternoon the planning committee unanimously approved the Says Court solar farm application. The conditions were largely as in the report but with two additions (the conditions ones proposed by the Coal Authority and Network Rail). The condition about what should happen at the end of the 25 years was reworded so that it also required removal of the apparatus if the generation of power ceased some time before then.

Edited to add: During the meeting, officers also clarified the use of the community benefit fund. While still objecting to the application, Westerleigh Parish Council had negotiated on a "without prejudice" basis a community benefit of £1000 per MW generated, which could mean up to £17,500 a year for environmental projects to benefit the local community. Officers emphasised that their recommendation did not depend on this, it was a unilateral undertaking by the applicants, AEE Renewables. In the first year, £7000 will be available for ecological improvements on site, in conjunction with Avon Wildlife Trust.

Planning committee to decide Solar Farm application

The site meeting in July

It’s been confirmed that the DC (West) planning committee will consider the Says Court Solar Farm at their meeting next Thursday, 26th September, starting at 2.30pm in the Council offices in Thornbury. It will be the first application considered at the meeting, although there are some administrative items that always have to be dealt with first.

You can find the agenda online and the officer's report.

The officer recommendation is for approval with conditions. The actual decision will be made by the councillors at the meeting. There will be an opportunity for both supporters and objectors to speak for up to 5 minutes in total, so it makes sense for someone to act as spokesperson. Ward councillor Claire Young has a separate slot in which to speak.

Says Court Farm site visit

Yesterday the DC (West) planning committee visited Says Court Farm. At the entrance to the farm, the applicant, local councillor Claire Young, Westerleigh Parish Councillor Eve Carey and a representative of local objectors all had the opportunity to speak. The members of the committee then went on a tour of the farm and surrounding viewpoints so they could consider the visual impact of the proposals and ask questions.

There is still some work to be done before the application can go to committee. It definitely will not be considered at the next meeting, on 1st August.

Says Court Solar Farm - site visit 19th July

South Marston Solar Farm near Swindon

The site visit for the Says Court Farm solar farm project will take place on Friday 19th July, with an expected arrival time of 2.20pm. Being at the end of a long list of site visits, there is obviously scope for delay. It is proposed that everyone meets at the entrance to Says Court Farm and that those speaking will do so there, residents will not go on to the site. Members of the committee will then be driven around the site and to various vantage points to allow them to assess the visual impact of the proposal. 

You can view both the full agenda and the Says Court Farm report online. At this stage the officer has not made a recommendation to members to approve or refuse the application. The report simply asks the committee members to inspect the site and view it from the surrounding area.

In preparation for speaking at the site visit, local councillor Claire Young has visited two solar farms, one near Swindon and one near Bradford-on-Avon, with one of the Westerleigh Parish Councillors. Although AEE Renewables gave Claire details of where the sites were, she did not tell them when she was going and they were not accompanied by anyone from the company, so the visits were done entirely independently.

While visiting the site, Claire took some pictures. There was a public footpath at the South Marston site, not far outside Swindon, so it was possible to walk about and get right up to the fence. AEE Renewables had said that the concrete foundations are not what is planned for Says Court, so that isn’t representative of this application, but the site did demonstrate fencing, buffer zones etc. The site near Bradford-on-Avon was more tucked away, but it was possible to take pictures over the wall of the neighbouring cemetery.

The pictures hopefully give some idea of the visual impact of the site. Noise was not a problem in either case - you could hear the transformers when you were very close to them but moving away the sound soon became inaudible. If you would like to visit the sites yourselves, the postcodes are SN3 4SF and BA15 1TR. You can also find out more from the AEE Renewables website - there are pages for the Bradford-on-Avon site, the South Marston site and the recently approved solar farm neighbouring the South Marston site.

Solar Farm application - have your say

AEE Renewables have submitted their application for a solar farm at Says Court Farm. You can view the details and make any comments you may have on the South Glos website. The closing date for comments is 1st 10th May.

(Having seen a number of different dates quoted, I checked with the case officer who has confirmed that the deadline for comments is 10th May).

Solar energy plan for Says Court Farm

AEE Renewables are proposing to create a solar PV farm at Says Court Farm, off the Badminton Road between Coalpit Heath and Yate.

As part of their consultation with local people, they will be making a presentation at the Westerleigh Parish Council meeting at 7.15pm on Monday 4th March 2013 in Westerleigh Village Hall. If you can't attend the meeting or would like to find out more about the project beforehand, you can go to their website, www.sayscourtfarmsolar.co.uk. Please also let your local Focus team know what you think about the proposals.