Planned solar farm is so huge it’s considered nationally significant infrastructure project – stratford-herald.com

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A giant solar farm covering more than one and a half thousand football pitches, could be built near Stratford.
The earmarked swathe of land stretches over four square miles and includes four main sites across south Warwickshire and east Worcestershire.
A map shows the proposed development comes close to Bidford, Wixford, Salford Priors and Cleeve Priors.
Arrow Valley Solar, the developer behind the project, has submitted a scoping report to the planning inspectorate and invited feedback from residents.
The solar farm proposal confirms it covers approximately 2,600 acres, although Arrow Valley says not all of that land will be used for solar panels.
The farm, able to generate up to 500 megawatts of renewable energy and power tens of thousands of homes, would include solar panels, a battery energy storage system, substations plus an underground cable route linking solar sites with one another and with the national grid at Feckenham substation.
Arrow Valley says there will be no pylons, and landowners will still be able to graze livestock in the fields where panels are.
The land falls within the jurisdiction of three planning authorities including Stratford District Council, Redditch Borough Council and Wychavon District Council as well as two county councils – Warwickshire and Worcestershire.
Because of the size of the project, the solar farm is classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project and will need a special type of planning permission known as a development consent order (DCO).
Arrow Valley has started environmental surveys and the formal planning process and aims to submit its DCO application in spring next year [2027].
The final decision will be made by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
If planning is approved, construction could start by 2029 and the solar farm to be up and running by 2031.
Arrow Valley Solar is owned by Island Green Power which has delivered just over 20 solar and storage projects in the country including at Cottam, the UK’s largest consented solar project.
On its website, Arrow says: ‘At this early stage of the project, we have not yet decided where within the sites any of this infrastructure will go.
‘We will be developing our proposals over the course of 2026 to consider the results of environmental surveys, before undertaking a public consultation at the end of the year.
‘We will consult local communities, policymakers, local authorities and statutory bodies, such as Natural England, to gain feedback, understand issues and help address concerns.
‘We use this process to refine project proposals before the application is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.’
A formal public consultation is expected to take place in Winter 2026/2027 but in the meantime, Arrow Valley has said it welcomes feedback.
To see the location of the proposed solar farm click here and to read Arrow Valley Solar’s scoping report, click here

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