Enborne Solar Farm Gets Green Light from Planners

West Berkshire Council has approved a solar farm in Enborne after Calleva Community Energy Trust awarded the construction contract. Horizon Power & Energy Ltd has redesigned the layout and used up-to-date equipment to boost efficiency.

It will sit on land north of Spring Gardens and Andover Drove in Wash Water, inside the northern part of a large grazing field. The solar facility will be a securely fenced area with access only authorised by Calleva Community Energy; most of the grazing field will be retained and protected during construction.

Planners approved the panels and ancillary kit: inverter and substation house, security cameras, deer fence, a new highway access and a landscaping scheme.

National Grid capacity limits mean the project will be phased; phase one comprises 2756 solar panels. The applicant lodged the scheme in 2023 and has since met council conditions, including building a site access onto Andover Drove.

Any trees, shrubs or hedges planted under the approved landscaping scheme that are removed, die, become diseased or are seriously damaged must be replanted within five years after completion with plants of similar size and species.

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter