Further to our recent correspondence and your interest in the proposal, we write to provide an update on Wiswood Solar and Battery Energy Storage System.
As a reminder the key facts for the project are:
• The local community will have a say in how the community financial benefits arising from this project are spent over the next 40 years.
• The solar farm will provide a significant Biodiversity Net Gain. It is antcipated that the site will achieve approximately 110.50% for habitats, 36.25% for hedgerows and a 16.93% net gain for watercourse.
• Installed capacity: 49.9MW with 10MW battery storage, developed in such a way to minimise visual impact.
• Electricity generated equivalent to 15,150 homes powered each year
• Solar panels and battery storage would use the latest technology so power can be distributed when it is needed, helping the UK achieve its net zero goals.
• Quintas Cleantech, the Developer intends to offer the local community the opportunity to invest in and own up to 10% of the project.
Following the recent public consultation, the following key amendments have been made to the proposal prior to submitting a planning application:
• At the public exhibiton the residents raised concerns over the proximity of the PV deployment to their properties and also the use of South Lane for HGVs during the construction phase. In response, Quintas reviewed and amended standoff distances from some properties and revisited the access strategy.
• Additional landscaping is also proposed which can be seen in the Landscape Masterplan.
• Quintas held further one to one meetings at the request of some nearby residents to discuss and agree on appropriate mitigation measures. Subsequently, changes were made to the overall plans. This includes changes to the development layout and landscaping scheme as shown on the Landscape Masterplan attached to this email.
The planning application has now been submitted to North Yorkshire Council under the Town and County Planning Act (1990) who will make the decision on whether to grant planning permission in their role as the Local Planning Authority. The application has been validated, the planning reference number is ZG2025/0762/EIA. You can access the application by following this link:
https://public.selby.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T03Q61NXHF100&activeTab=summary
Stakeholders and the public will now have an opportunity to provide comments on the proposal directly to the Local Planning Authority via their own consultation.
We hope you have found this update useful and we look forward to answering any questions you may have.