Eveley Farm

This 150-acre ground mounted solar farm in Hampshire’s Test Valley covers the equivalent of 85 football pitches, making it one of the largest of its kind in the country when it was constructed. 

Our planning team had to overcome a number of hurdles before consent was finally given in July 2016. 

The original plan for a 49MW solar farm was rejected by Test Valley Borough Council in 2013; the authority ruled the installation would have an “unacceptable impact” on the landscape. 

An appeal was submitted in parallel with revised plans, only for the then Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to place a holding direction on them, preventing the local authority from taking any action until he’d had a chance to review the scheme. Mr Pickles was succeeded in a Government reshuffle by Greg Clark, who cleared it for approval. 

Eveley Solar Farm won the ‘Smart Solar Award’ 2016 for best Large Ground Mount Installation.  In 2016 it was producing electricity for over 15,000 households and saving 21,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.

Our team prepared the planning application, co-ordinated the Environmental Statement (as the project was deemed to be EIA development), and prepared the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment.