Manor Farm Solar

Johns Associates receives some fantastic news.

The Spring Manor Farm Solar Farm and Ecosystem Restoration planning application was approved unanimously approved by all Councillors at Dorset Council’s planning committee. This was despite ongoing objections from the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Board and Natural England (NE). This significant project will unlock large scale landscape and ecosystem service restoration on cattle grazed land, resting the soil, creating species rich grasslands, large wetlands, restoring historic hedge lines and field parcels, new woodlands and trees resulting in a massive uplift of BNG, carbon sequestration and storage over 40 years plus, reducing downstream flood risk and nutrient transport and significantly, allow NE and Dorset Wildlife Trust to infill a channel in part of the Dorset Heaths SAC/SPA to restore groundwater and wet Heath and mire. The scheme delivers £10k of offsite landscape benefits elsewhere in the AONB per year and generates lots of lovely low carbon electricity.

Johns Associates’ role was EIA and ES coordination, landscape and visual impact assessment and design ecological impact assessment and design, flood risk assessment and drainage strategy, water quality management. Great work from all those involved.

BBC News Coverage can be found here.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-63709810.amp