Plans lodged for huge solar farm that will straddle North Devon and Torridge

Plans have been submitted for a large scale 50 megawatt solar farm and battery storage system at Alverdiscott that covers 111 hectares and will straddle the borders of two districts.

Noventum Power is behind the Bulworthy Solar Ltd scheme for land at Bulworthy Farm at Stoney Cross, which is believed to be the largest ever solar farm proposed for northern Devon.

The land straddles district council boundaries and North Devon Council and Torridge District Council’s planning committees will combine to determine the application at a later date.

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Developers say the array would produce enough green electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 24,000 homes.

It is not subject to any environmentally sensitive landscape designations and is more than four miles away from the North Devon National Landscape and Heritage Coast, but does have a number of listed buildings in close proximity.

In March, the applicants held a public consultation event at Lovacott Hall in Newton Tracey, which was attended by 80 people and set up a website to update residents.

Around 30 responses raised issues around the scale of the development, loss of agricultural land, impact to wildlife, disruption during construction and the need for solar in this area as there are seven existing or proposed solar farms in the vicinity.

Planning permission is being sought for 40 years after which time the site will be returned to its existing condition.

Documents supporting the plans say that agricultural activities can continue as sheep can graze between and under the panels which would be up to three metres in height and situated in rows.

Trees would be planted to provide amenity benefits for residents and users of the footpath which crosses the site, break down the scheme into smaller visual segments and screen views of the solar panels. The site would be enclosed by a 2.5 metre fence and have security cameras around the perimeter.

Any adverse impacts were “limited and suitably mitigated” said the applicants, so that they were clearly outweighed by the “significant weight that should be given to renewable energy projects of this scale, together with the government’s stated critical national priority to deliver renewable energy projects.”

The application, which includes a 50MW battery storage energy system (BESS), would take 12-18 months to construct, with an ‘intensive period’ of activity in the middle. 

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Construction activities and deliveries would be carried out Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm and between 8am and 1.30pm on Saturdays, with small to medium sized HVGs arriving and leaving via an unnamed rural road off the Old Bideford Road roundabout.

No activities would occur on Sundays and bank holidays and this can be secured via a condition if the application is approved.

The site would require minimal maintenance and few vehicle movements once built, said the applicants.

Pre-application advice from council planning officers has already been sought by the applicants and a landscape and visual impact assessment requested to identify appropriate mitigation and scale of development.

A fire safety management plan, construction management plan and ecological surveys are also being submitted as part of the planning proposal.