Johns Associates’ Planning and Environmental Appraisal team is celebrating two successful planning outcomes, supporting planning applications for solar farms for Good Energy.

The team provided Landscape and Visual Impact Assessments, ecological assessments and arboricultural assessments for a 5MW solar farm in Dorset and for a (up to) 2MW solar farm in Cornwall. For the proposal in Cornwall, Johns Associates additionally produced a Flood Risk Assessment, Planning Supporting Statement and Design and Access Statement and coordinated the submission of the application as a whole as named planning agent.

We were particularly pleased to be involved in the solar farm at Delabole, Cornwall because of its innovative design. It will be one of the few sites in the UK where solar and wind energy production co-located, and the solar panels have been raised higher than is usual from the ground, and spaced further apart to allow normal agricultural operation to continue.

These applications were produced under extremely tight deadlines driven by changes to government support mechanisms and Johns Associates worked pragmatically to ensure environmental protection and planning gains were achieved as efficiently and robustly as possible.