The Planning Application
The planning application is also available on the Sevenoaks District Council website at: pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/. The planning reference is 23/03181/FUL.
- Planning Statement
- Design and Access Statement
- Statement of Community Involvement
- Site Alternatives Study
Technical Reports
- Agricultural Land Classification
- Agricultural Impact Assessment
- Arboricultural Impact Assessment
- Arboricultural Method Statement
- Acoustic Impact Assessment
- Construction Traffic Management Plan
- Ecological Appraisal Report
- Flood Risk Assessment and Surface Water Drainage Strategy
- Glint and Glare Assessment
- Heritage Statement - Part 1
- Heritage Statement - Part 2
- Heritage Statement - Part 3
- Landscape and Visual Assessment (LVA)
- LVA Appendix 1
- LVA Appendix 2
- LVA Appendix 3
- LVA Appendix 4a
- LVA Appendix 4b
- LVA Appendix 5
- LVA Appendix 6
- LVA Appendix 7 updated May 24 (Landscape Masterplan)
- LVA Appendix 8
- LVA Appendix 9
Figures
- Figure 1 - Site Location Plan
- Figure 2 - Site Location Map
- Figure 3 - Field Numbers
- Figure 4 - Infrastructure Layout updated May 24 (A3)
- Figure 5 - Infrastructure Layout Enlargements updated May 24 (A1)
- Figure 6 - Typical Access Track Detail
- Figure 7 - Typical Temporary Construction Compound Layout
- Figure 8 - Typical PV Module and Rack details
- Figure 9 - Typical Security Fence Detail (around electrical compound)
- Figure 10 - Typical Perimeter Deer Fence (around whole farm)
- Figure 11 - Typical Security Lighting and CCTV
- Figure 12 - Typical Inverter and Storage Layout
- Figure 13 - Typical Inverter Substation
- Figure 14 - Typical Battery Storage Enclosure
- Figure 15 - Typical DC-DC Converter
- Figure 16 - Substation Compound
- Figure 17 - Gas Pipe Protection Slab
- Figure 18 - Indicative Grid Connection Route
- Figure 19 - Indicative Horizontal Directional Drill Design (added May 24)
- Figure 20 - Horse Riding Track (added May 24)
- Figure 21 - Site Water Supplies (added May 24)
- Figure 22 - Emergency Vehicle Swept Path Analysis (added May 24)
Planning Addendum
In May 2024, RES submitted a Planning Addendum to address the comments raised by the Local Planning Authority, by statutory consultees and by the general public following the conclusion of the statutory consultation period. The addendum addresses the following matters:
- Introduction
- Public Rights of Way
- Archaeology
- Built Heritage
- Landscape and Visual Impact
- Ecology
- Arboriculture
- Highways
- Flood Risk and Drainage
- Crime Prevention
- Existing Gas Infrastructure
- Fire Risk Statement
- Other Matters and Planning Balance
- Response to Public Comments
- Summary and Conclusion
Hard copies of some planning documents are available on request. Please contact us for more information.
Reasons to Support the Chimmens Solar Farm Proposal
There is now widespread recognition that the UK, and the rest of the world, is in a climate emergency. Renewable energy has a significant part to play in meeting the UK’s targets of eliminating fossil fuels from the UK electricity market by 2035 and achieving net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. Reports have shown that in order to achieve net zero by 2050 the UK will need to quadruple its low carbon electricity generation. Solar energy has an important part to play in helping reach these targets, as well as providing a balanced energy mix, and it is estimated that 40GW1 of solar will be needed by 2030 to stay on track with net zero ambitions, with 63%2 (or 25GW) of this coming from large scale ground mounted solar farms.The UK Government’s Energy Security Plan, published in March 2023, states “Energy security necessarily entails the smooth transition to abundant, low-carbon energy. If we do not decarbonise, we will be less energy secure” Furthermore, it calls for energy to be “cheap, clean and British”. The government has also established a solar government-industry taskforce and have committed to publishing a solar roadmap setting out a clear step by step deployment trajectory to achieve 70GW of solar by 2035. The report recognises that ground-mounted solar is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation and is readily deployable at scale.
Our current power system still relies heavily on fossil fuels, such as gas. The volatile price of these is the reason that bills have increased so rapidly in recent months. The need to rapidly scale up home grown energy has become even more urgent.
Solar is a free and inexhaustible resource which has an important role to play as part of a balanced energy mix. Large scale solar, alongside other renewable technologies, is now the cheapest source of electricity generation3 making solar development not only beneficial for the environment but also for bill payers. If consented, Chimmens Solar Farm would be capable of producing clean, green electricity for approximately 19,1944 homes every year.
Chimmens Solar Farm, if consented, could deliver new landscape and ecological measures and an overall Biodiversity Net Gain of 45% net gain in area habitats and 39% net gain in hedgerow habitats. All of these new habitats will provide significant improvements for all species in the local area.
Chimmens Solar Farm has been designed to integrate into the surrounding area as appropriately as possible and the results of a Landscape and Visual Assessment (LVA) were used alongside topographical surveys results to inform this design. Due to the temporary nature of the project, there will not be a long-term loss of greenbelt and the land can be returned to agricultural practices at the end of the solar project. There are strong local and national policies demonstrating the need for renewable energy projects in order to tackle climate change and meet the government’s targets for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Chimmens Solar Farm proposal aligns with these policies and the benefits of the renewable energy generated by the project would be realised locally and nationally.
The solar farm could deliver direct benefit to the area - generating jobs during construction and decommissioning. Inward investment can be significant as a range of services will be required including haulage, on-site welfare facilities, refuse and recycling facilities, transport and local accommodation for construction workers. Furthermore, if consented, Chimmens Solar Farm would pay business rates annually, directly to Sevenoaks District Council, for the life of the project, helping to fund vital services for all local residents.
If, having read the above, you would like to support the Chimmens Solar Farm proposal, you can do so by submitting a representation online via the Sevenoaks District Council’s website. The planning reference is 23/03181/FUL and should be included in all correspondence.
1 https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CCC-Accelerated-Electrification-Vivid-Economics-Imperial-1.pdf
2 https://solarenergyuk.org/resource/lighting-the-way-making-net-zero-a-reality-with-solar-energy/
3 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6556027d046ed400148b99fe/electricity-generation-costs-2023.pdf
4 RES has changed the formula for the homes powered and therefore the homes figure is now calculated by taking the predicted annual electricity generation of the site (using an average capacity factor of 11.2%) and dividing this by the annual average electricity figures from DESNZ (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formerly BEIS) showing that the annual GB average domestic household consumption is 3,239 kWh (January 24). Note, the change in formula has led to a difference in homes powered to that previously publicised.