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Search the Public Notice PortalA solar park the size of 160 football pitches will be constructed near Chippenham, it has emerged.
In December 2023 Exagen Development Limited submitted an application for a 23 megawatt renewable energy park on a 114 hectare site between Christian Malford and Dauntsey.
Swallett Energy Park would comprise “strings” of hundreds of solar panels, to a maximum height of 3.1m above ground level, spaced between 3m to 6m apart and mounted on metal frames, according to the application.
Associated infrastructure would include a new 33kV substation, which would be connected via an underground cable.
The solar park would produce enough electricity to power 9,400 homes, the applicants said.
More than 50 letters of objection were received to the development, including objections from Christian Malford Parish Council.
A meeting of Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee in March 2025 voted down the plans, citing landscape concerns and the impact on designated heritage assets.
Exagen appealed against the council's reasons for refusal in September and a one-day hearing was held on December 16, following a site visit with the inspector, a representative of Exagen, and a Wiltshire Council officer the day before.
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In his findings the Inspector Ben Plenty addressed the visual impact of the development.
"The local landscape includes the M4 corridor and railway lines in cuttings and embankments," he said.
"The proposed development would locate solar arrays within the existing field pattern.
"It would retain and enhance hedge and tree groups within the site, thereby retaining the structure of field boundaries and keeping field patterns intact.
"As such, the proposal would have a largely non-invasive and restorative impact on the landscape features defined as important to the character areas."
He also acknowledged that the residents of Malford House and Great Ridgeway Farm - both of which date from the 1700s - would be able to see the development from their homes.
But said the visual impact would be reduced from 'major' to 'moderate' after 15 years "once landscape mitigation has reached maturity."
He also concluded that "there is insufficient evidence to indicate that the proposal would affect tourism across the wider area, businesses or canal users."
His decision was published on Thursday, January 22.
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