An application submitted to Wiltshire Council has revealed that a new solar farm could be built south of the A342, near Pewsey, 1.5km below the village of Wilsford.
An EIA screening opinion was sent to Wiltshire Council in June by Ampyr Solar Europe and a decision has now been made.
An application of this type is to determine if a development requires an Environmental Impact Assessment and is typically the first step taken by developers in planning a solar farm.
This is to clarify the regulatory requirements and identify any significant environmental issues that would need to be addressed in a future planning application.
In this case, the application is described as: “EIA Screening Opinion for proposed development of a solar farm with generating capacity of up to 49.9MW with up to 49.9MW of BESS and associated works, equipment and necessary infrastructure.”
According to the developer, the size of the proposed development would be approximately 58.2ha.
Wiltshire Council has concluded that an Environmental Impact Assessment would in fact need to be carried out for this project in the centre of the county.
Carrying out this assessment will be one of the next steps for the developers of the potential solar farm.
In other planning news, Wiltshire Council has approved an application submitted by the Ministry of Defence for Trenchard Lines in Upavon.
Two existing buildings are set to be demolished to make way for the construction of a three-storey accommodation block to accommodate 69 SNCO rank personnel.
The proposed development is one of three proposals at Trenchard Lines to replace existing out-dated accommodation.
The application states: “The new building will provide greatly improved accommodation, of a standard necessary to recruit and retain service personnel.
“It will provide 69 ensuite rooms in a modern, high-quality environment that will support the operational effectiveness of the occupiers and promote personnel retention.”
Trenchard Lines was originally an RAF base constructed in 1912 and was handed over to the British Army in 1993.
The base is one of two sites that house the British Army Headquarters Land Forces and is named after Major Hugh Trenchard, the “father of the Royal Air Force”.
Meanwhile, in Chippenham, the council has granted permission for new Starbucks signage to be put up at number 33 on the high street.
This includes signs over the shopfront saying “Starbucks” and an illuminated hanging sign with the chain’s logo.
The plans suggest that the Starbucks will occupy the building space nearest the River Avon, whilst Tesco will become the tenant of the neighbouring unit.
In Warminster, Wiltshire Council has approved the installation of 107 additional storage units at Norbeck Enterprise Centre.
The new units will cover a total area approximate to 2135.6m2, whereas the existing provision covers an area approximate to 471m2.
According to the application, “security cameras with infra-red vision” will be installed to monitor the remotely managed site.
Finally, Burbage County Primary School has applied for permission to construct a temporary building in which they will provide emotional learning support.
The building will be 7.5m by 3.5m and will be made of wood.
The application form states: “This will enable Burbage Primary school to provide ELSA (emotional, learning support), pastoral support, group interventions, training and meetings between different agencies that are involved in caring for our school pupils, all to support the wellbeing of our children.
“We currently do not have space within school to provide this.”
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