Chapman Lily Planning are delighted to have secured permission for the extension to the existing solar photovoltaic array at Whites Pit (Canford Resource Park) in North Poole for our client Canford Renewable Energy (CRE).
The site, Whites Pit, is a former landfill which was capped and restored at the turn of the century. CRE have operated a power station for around 30-years at Canford Resource Park, capturing methane gas from the former landfill and using it to power a bank of seven second generation gas engines to generate renewable electricity. The electricity powers neighbouring waste management activities within the Resource Park, with any excess electricity exported via a cable across Canford Heath that connects to the local distribution grid. CRE have continued to invest in innovative forms of renewable energy in recent years, in 2021 a 5MW ground-mounted PV solar array and pioneering hydrogen plant was installed at Whites Pit. The array and plant became fully operational in 2022.
Permission was granted on the 19th of December by BCP Council for the circa 3-hectare extension to the existing array to provide a further 2MW of installed capacity. The array once built out will export the renewable energy generated to the local distribution grid, as opposed to the existing scheme which primarily powers the hydrogen processing plant on site. The proposal also comprised of 2 hectares of habitat creation and enhancement which will provide long-lasting benefits to the surrounding SSSI Heathland, as well as assisting in screening the site through vegetation and bund planting.
Sophia Dykes, Assistant Planner at Chapman Lily Planning, commented: “With the site being in the Green Belt it was necessary to demonstrate that ‘very special circumstances’ were present that addresses national and local planning policy requirements. Given the significant environmental benefits of the scheme, not just through renewable energy generation, but also the landscape and biodiversity enhancements, we were able to put forward a well justified argument that the proposal constitutes ‘very special circumstances’ where development is ‘not inappropriate’ in the Green Belt to warrant support from the Local Planning Authority. It is a great result to get planning permission for this scheme in a time where the need for renewable energy has dominated global, national and local policy initiatives as well as being at the forefront of media campaigns."
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