Parley Court Farm, Dorset

Project Details

Enviromena has developed a 46.85 MWp solar farm in West Parley, Christchurch which is now fully consented following the grant of planning permission in June 2024.

LOCATION:	West Parley, Christchurch, Dorset
POWER CAPACITY:	46.85 MWp
STATUS:	Fully consented
MODULES:	TBC
NUMBER OF MODULES INSTALLED:	TBC
INVERTERS:	TBC
NUMBER OF INVERTERS INSTALLED:	TBC
CONNECTION VOLTAGE:	33kV
ENERGISATION DATE:	TBC

What was involved

The project was identified for solar development by Enviromena’s development team in late 2020 and Enviromena’s experienced land acquisition team agreed long-term lease terms with the landowner. An application for grid capacity was submitted to the DNO, SSEN.

After the site was identified it became apparent that the site would bring its own complications for our team to solve. These include large parcels of the site being in flood zone 2 and 3. However, through in-depth communication and consultation with expert consultants and the Environment Agency, our team found solutions to the issues presented by flooding on the land and subsequently planning was granted.

Planning approval

The project received very few local objections enabling the project to be approved by BCP Council’s Planning Officer by means of delegated power in June 2024.

After securing grid capacity for the project, Enviromena started the process of building a planning package for the site. Due to the site’s proximity to the River Stour, our plans had to factor in the risk of being in flood zones 2 and 3. This involved completing flood risk modelling assessments with skilled flood risk consultants and the Environment Agency to fully plan a mitigation strategy into the site’s layout and plans. The findings from these studies directly informed the site layout and mitigation strategy, ensuring all infrastructure was well located and protected in accordance with regulatory requirements.Parley Court

Following this, the scheme progressed through the planning process and was ultimately granted approval by BCP Council Planning Office through delegated power in June 2024, once the necessary environmental assurances were in place.

Enviromena continued to liaise with the local community throughout the planning and pre-construction stages, providing clear updates on the measures being taken to manage flood risk and ensure the long-term sustainability of the site.

Management of the site

Enviromena will own and operate the site utilising the expertise of our in-house O&M and asset management teams. This includes the team carrying out performance monitoring, security monitoring, preventative / reactive maintenance, landscape management all while ensuring safety is maintained.