Proposals

We recognise that there are concerns about the deployment of solar panels in fields affecting the UK’s food security. Should development consent be granted, it is possible that sheep grazing could happen on part of the site once the solar farm is constructed and operational.

Solar farms play an important role in supporting the continued food supply in Wales, primarily through addressing climate change which is the single biggest threat to food security.

The third UK Climate Risk Assessment for Wales, published in 2021, describes climate change as the primary factor affecting food production patterns.[1] The UK Government Food Security Report also found that biggest medium to long term risk to the UK’s domestic food production comes from climate change and other environmental pressures. The report even quantifies this risk and found that climate change could reduce the proportion of BMV agricultural land from a baseline of 38.1% to 11.4% by 2050, reducing the UK’s prime agricultural land supply by almost three quarters.

Solar farms also occupy a very small proportion of Welsh land and even if projects are built with five times as much capacity as those which have submitted a planning application, they would still only occupy 0.17% of Wales’s total land area.

[1] Solar Energy Wales, Ground mounted solar farms and agricultural land: The Facts, December 2022. Accessed via: https://solarenergyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wales-Briefing_2022.pdf

The metal frames will be anchored into the ground and solar panels mounted on them at a tilt angle of 15°. The maximum height of the panels will be 3 metres above ground level. The panels will face due south and will be dark blue or black in appearance. The bottom of the panels will be a minimum of 90cm above the ground and they will be positioned in rows with approximately 4.5 metres of space from front to back, to ensure the land between them can be managed as either meadowland or for agricultural purposes.

There will be a DNO substation building built on concrete foundations, located in the north at the entrance to the site. The substation building will measure a maximum height of 4m and will be enclosed by 2.0m high palisade fencing.

The design incorporates additional enclosures for metering and switchgear and there will be Switch/Transformer substations positioned throughout the site.

The availability of a suitable grid connection is the primary reason for developing a solar farm in this location.

The site is also located in an area of low flood risk, is not subject to any specific ecological or environmental designations, and has a suitable topography (landscape) to accommodate solar panels. All of which make it a suitable location to host a solar farm.

According to the Welsh Government’s Predictive Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) all of the land within the Site is predicated to be Grade 3b, which is not Best and Most Versatile (BMV). All of our on-site surveys to date have confirmed this, and we are continuing to carry out such surveys to confirm this is the case for the entirety of the site, by the time we submit our planning application.

Will the site be noisy?

The solar farm itself will not generate significant noise during operation, as solar panels are quiet and require minimal maintenance. Some noise may be heard from the initial construction works. This will be temporary and managed in order to minimise disruption or nuisance for nearby residents, and enforced as a condition of any planning permission.

As part of our application, we have carefully assessed the routes for delivering the solar panels through a comprehensive Traffic Management Plan, designed to minimise any disruption to the local area. We will work closely with the local highways authorities and technical consultees to ensure that the most suitable and efficient transport routes are selected. The Traffic Management Plan is available for public review and feedback during the Pre-Application Consultation (PAC).

Construction traffic will access the site by: following the A525 south off the A55; following the A525 south until the roundabout with the B5381; and following the B5381 southwest to Cefn Meiriadog. A Transport Statement and Construction Traffic Management Plan will accompany the planning application. These demonstrate that the construction traffic associated with the proposals can be safely accommodated within the existing highways network.

We are undertaking a pre-application community consultation exercise prior to submitting an application to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW). This centres around a formal consultation period as required by the DNS regulations set out in the Planning (Wales) Act 2015. This formal consultation period will last six weeks and will include further detailed information about the proposals.

All information about the consultation is available to view on the project website and  publicised via a number of channels.

For further information about the consultation process and how to provide your feedback, the Planning Inspectorate Wales has produced a useful guide for local communities about the DNS process, which can be found here: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-11/developments-of-national-significance-dns-procedural-guidance.pdf

We are currently aiming to submit an application to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) in early July 2025 following the pre-application consultation with consultees and the local community.

Once we have submitted our application, PEDW will check that all the required documents have been submitted and decide whether or not to ‘accept’ the application. A Planning Inspector will then be appointed, and the examination will start.

The Inspectorate will arrange for the Local Planning Authority (in this case Denbighshire County Council and Conwy County Borough Council) to display a notice (or notices) on site. A case officer at PEDW will email or write to all owners and occupiers of adjoining land, Community Councils and other statutory bodies, inviting them to submit comments (known as ‘representations’). At this point, local communities will then have 5 weeks to submit comments to PEDW directly.

The proposed St Asaph Solar Farm will deliver a multitude of economic benefits for local businesses and supply chains, as well as local residents and Denbighshire County Council.

Anesco is committed to employing locally and utilising the local supply chain during construction and operation wherever possible. As a company we are keen to utilise the pre-application and determination period to build up a network of local suppliers who would be interested in tendering during the procurement process.

The project will also support the wider Wales economy by using Welsh contractors during the pre-application and determination periods, helping to support Welsh jobs and Welsh businesses. Anesco has already demonstrated our commitment to bringing economic benefit to Wales through the appointment of Wales based consultants.

We will apply for temporary planning permission for 40 years, ensuring that once the solar farm reaches the end of its operational lifespan, all panels, equipment, and ancillary works will be dismantled and removed.

Unlike housing developments, this approach retains the land for long-term agricultural use. After the decommissioning of the proposed St Asaph Solar Farm, the land will be returned to its current state, albeit with a much higher biodiversity yield, thereby maintaining its designation as agricultural land for future generations.

The development will not alter the planning status of the land by creating a ‘brownfield’ site; the land will remain greenfield throughout the lifespan of the solar farm. As such, the development would not pave the way for any other future developments.