Bumpers Farm, Ilmer

Paul Basham Associates supported client Solar Planning and agent Smiths Gore to secure no highway objection for a 44ha Solar Farm in Buckinghamshire.

The brief

With a railway line, low arch bridge and residential dwellings proving difficult to avoid, Paul Basham Associates were tasked with identifying two new construction and service access locations which would minimise the impacts to residents, allow unconstrained construction of the solar farm and ultimately have no safety or capacity issues on the Local Road Network.

Our approach

A Construction Traffic Management Plan was prepared by Paul Basham Associates to support the planning application. Liaison with Buckinghamshire County Council, Wycombe District Council and Aylesbury Vale proved pivotal for agreeing the location of the accesses and determining the scope of the assessment.

Ultimately, the site was split in two with each accounting for one access point and a construction compound. Vehicle tracking was also undertaken for large articulated delivery vehicles, ensuring the proposals catered for large vehicles to reduce the number of deliveries and therefore speed up implementation.

The result

The scheme received no objection on highways and consent was eventually secured at appeal against Wycombe District Council in October 2015.

From our client

‘I know that it has been challenging and that we have asked a lot, but you delivered and I trust that our efforts will finally lead to the deserved result. I hope to have the possibility to work under reduced pressure in the future and above all to work with you again’

Francesco Cornacchie
Solar Planning