Renewables
Midlands Solar Farm, 45MW
Full ecological impact assessment and protected species surveys supporting a 45MW solar development on previously improved grassland.
01
The requirement
A 45MW ground-mounted solar scheme on 90 hectares of improved grassland needed full ecological baseline and assessment to support a planning application, working to a fixed grid connection date.
02
The ecology challenge
The site sat adjacent to a local wildlife site and supported a breeding bird assemblage. Survey windows for breeding and wintering birds fall in opposite halves of the year, which meant the programme had to start well before the application was drafted.
03
Our approach
We scoped the survey requirement at site selection stage rather than after layout freeze, ran breeding and wintering bird surveys across a full cycle, and fed constraints into the layout while changes were still cheap to make.
04
The outcome
Consent was granted with ecological conditions the client could actually discharge. Net gain was delivered on site through grassland enhancement and new hedgerow, avoiding off-site credit purchase.
Result
Planning consent achieved
Tell us about your project
Send your site postcode, project type and any ecology requirements you have already been given. We will help you understand the next step.