Consultation begins on proposed solar farm in Buckinghamshire which could power over 57,000 homes

Rosefield Solar Farm is seeking feedback on updated proposals published today for consultation over an eight-week period.

This is the second stage of public consultation on the proposed solar farm with battery storage, which is located between Buckingham and Aylesbury.

The proposals were updated following feedback from the community and stakeholders, alongside ongoing technical work and the outputs of early environmental assessments.

Changes include further design of offsets from homes and villages, including proposals for new planting, as well as an overall reduction in the size of the area proposed for solar panels. Areas not proposed for development would be managed for mitigation, ecological enhancement or retained for agricultural use – and are now proposed to make up more than 60% of the site.

The updated proposals also include a new 1.9km permissive footpath and plans for a community benefit fund which would provide £400 per megawatt of installed capacity for communities to spend on local projects.

The consultation will run for eight weeks, closing at 11.59pm on Thursday 14 November 2024. Feedback at this stage will be used to refine proposals before a Development Consent Order (DCO) application is submitted.

Rosefield Solar Farm would make a significant contribution to the UK’s future energy mix by providing enough clean, secure energy to power over 57,000 homes* every year.

As part of the consultation, members of the public are invited to a series of public exhibitions to meet with the team behind Rosefield and share their feedback. The exhibitions will take place at the following dates and locations:

Members of the public can also visit a dedicated website (www.rosefieldsolarfarm.co.uk) to view and download the consultation materials and visit a virtual exhibition on the plans.

Copies of the consultation materials can also be viewed at the following locations (please check opening hours before travelling):

All responses must be received by the consultation deadline of 11:59pm on Thursday 14 November 2024.

*           Based upon the average domestic electricity consumption per home (temperature corrected) per the Energy Consumption in the UK (Table C9 of ECUK: Consumption data tables, published September 2021).