Frequently Asked Questions

Sustainability is at the core of how the Westhide Estate is managed, both environmentally and financially. Regeneration and ecological enhancement have been the two key driving forces of how the estate has been run over the past two decades.

A solar power scheme on estate land fits within and supports the long-term sustainability strategy of the estate.

The solar power scheme has a number of environmental benefits, both in terms of the wider clean energy/carbon savings context, as well as locally via habitat creation and biodiversity enhancement.

The commercial contribution of the scheme will also facilitate further ecologically-sympathetic regeneration work within the village, as well as additional biodiversity enhancement work around the estate.

Ecological enhancement has been actively pursued on Westhide Estate over the past two decades, especially in its woodlands, over 90% of which are ancient in origin.

There has been in an increase in both silvicultural activity and positive conservation work, leading to a distinct species-rich ground flora, improvements in species conservation and the carbon sequestration capacity of the woodland.

The woodland management at Westhide has produced a rich mosaic of tree species of varying age, open habitats and nectar-producing plants beneficial to invertebrates and birds living in ancient and veteran trees.

The final proposal consists of circa 60 acres of solar development.

A solar power scheme of 24.6MW would generate around 25,860MWh of electricity every year. This equates to the amount of electricity used by 8,900 typical, medium-usage UK households – equivalent to circa 27% of the number of households in the Hereford locality.

This would displace around 6,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.

The environmental benefit figures are based on 24.6MW of installed solar PV, operating with a 12% capacity factor, a Typical Domestic Consumption Value (TDCV) for a medium-use household of 2900kWh per annum (Ofgem 2020), UK government figures on the carbon emissions for homes on the average energy fuel mix (2019) and 2011 Census figures.

No, the agricultural land grade of the Westhide site will not change as a result of the scheme. It will remain primarily grade 3b.

Planning permission for solar power sites is usually given for 30 years, after which the site must be decommissioned and returned to its previous state. This is typically ensured with a planning condition attached to the planning permission.

The finished project will consist of the following equipment: (a) Circa 45,000 solar panels mounted on steel frames, (b) Circa 6 central inverters, (c) 1 substation compound, (d) Security fence – proposed deer fencing, (e) Infra-red CCTV cameras along the security fence.

There will be no onsite overground cabling or any night-time lighting.

As part of the biodiversity enhancements and additional landscape planting there will also be additional hedgerows, trees and other habitat features.

The electricity generated by the solar panels will connect to the grid via an onsite substation compound. From the site, an underground cable will take the electricity to the Hereford BSP (Bulk Supply Point) near Dormington where it will join the national network.

No. It is envisaged that all grid-connection cabling will be located underground.

Sensitively designed solar farms bring a net benefit to local ecology by creating additional habitat for various species and by diversifying the existing habitat.

As part of the rigorous pre-planning site assessment process, environmental studies take place on site, including a Phase 1 Habitat Survey and a tree survey. Additional seasonal or species-specific surveys (e.g. bats, badgers, great crested newts etc) are also undertaken.

During construction, a number of measures will take place to ensure minimal disruption to any local wildlife and any sensitive species. This can include the use of buffer zones, e.g. TEKSS has committed to keeping all development at least 5 metres away from all hedgerows and ecologically-valuable habitat, as well as best-practice construction measures, e.g. leaving planks overnight in any pits or trenches to enable badgers and other mammals to escape.

As part of the operational phase, we are seeding the entire site with a biodiverse seed mix which will create circa 60 acres of species-rich grassland; the site will result in a 69% gain of additional habitat and 59% gain on hedgerows as a result. We will be planting a total of 0.38 km of native species-rich hedgerow, and 0.79 km of native species-rich hedgerows with trees, as well as re-wilding areas, using local plant species.

Westhide Estate has also insisted on the creation of further additional habitat, with supplementary features and ecological enhancements, to include 10 bird boxes, 10 bat boxes and several reptile hibernacula.

Small mammal and badger gates will be added to the security fence (deer fencing) to allow small mammals to move freely within and around the site.

A typical construction programme for a solar farm runs for approximately 4 months. The work includes:

• Site preparation and set up (e.g. ensuring access tracks are in good condition)
• Trenching for and laying the cables
• Installation of the substation compound
• Piling the solar frames and installing the panels
• Installing the central inverters
• Installing the security fence
• Installing infra-red CCTV cameras (on poles)

As part of the planning application process a separate study on construction traffic was conducted. This has assessed likely delivery and construction traffic routes, calculate the number and types of vehicle needed, and suggest operational times and possible delivery restrictions to minimise impact on residential amenity.

TEKSS has been consulting closely on this issue with the local community, resulting in changes to proposed access routes. We will continue to consult on this issue throughout the development and planning stages.

Planning permission for solar farms is typically 30 years. After this period the site will need to be decommissioned and it will need to be returned to its previous state. This is typically ensured with a planning condition attached to the planning permission.

Construction

Some noise will be generated by moving machinery, piling of the steel frames and construction traffic during the construction phase. The nature and level of the noise, however, is in line with typical farming activity in the area.

Working hours will be agreed with Herefordshire Council ahead of construction and strictly adhered to. Typically these tend to be 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am – 1.30pm Saturdays, and no work on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

A Traffic Management Plan is being prepared as part of the planning application, ensuring that deliveries and construction traffic operate only during the agreed working hours.

Solar farm

Solar panels themselves do not emit any noise, as there are no moving parts.

The central inverters and the substation have internal fans to keep equipment below a certain temperature. The sound effect of these is to produce a hum within the immediate vicinity of the inverters and the substation, similar to an air-con unit.

With distance, the dB levels of this hum decrease and the low levels of noise generated by this equipment are quickly masked by existing background noise.

The location of the site and its distance from third-party residential properties and Public Rights of Way mean there will be no noise impacts from the scheme on residential and recreational amenity.

As a result of consultation with nearby residents we have carried out a noise assessment for the proposal to ensure that residential amenity is not negatively affected.

Solar panels are dark in colour, as their purpose is to absorb as much light as possible. Panels are places diagonally on steel frames, typically in east-west rows, usually just under 3m at their highest point.

Additional equipment, such as central inverters, are housed in steel containers, not too dissimilar to a small shipping container, with a height of circa 2.3m.

The substation compound houses all the necessary gear to be able to connect the electricity generated by the scheme to the electricity network. The equipment is typically up to 3-4m in height, with an area of 46m x 25m, set within the development boundary and surrounded by screening planting.

As part of the planning application process experienced consultants have conducted a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment to assess the impact the proposal will have on the local landscape and visual amenity, alongside photomontages.

One of the reasons why the site was selected is due to the abundant presence of existing screening in the form of hedgerows and high tree lines. Additional screening planting will be added to fill out any gaps and to help screen the site further.

Depending on the topography of the site and the angle of the solar panels, there can be some glint and glare from the panels, especially when the sun is low in the sky. Studies show that reflection from vegetation and bare soil can be more significant than from similar areas of solar.

Our site design will incorporate these considerations so that any potential glare is negligible.

Planning permission for a typical solar farm is usually 30 years, after which the site must be decommissioned and returned to its previous state. This is usually ensured with a planning condition attached to the planning permission.

Decommissioning is a very similar process to the construction phase, only it happens in reverse as various pieces of equipment are removed.

The fields would then be reinstated for agricultural use.

As well as generating clean electricity in the locality that will join the local grid network, the scheme will create a more biodiverse estate. The scheme will also provide income to Westhide Estate for further regeneration of derelict buildings within the village.

Once the scheme is operational reduced noise and traffic arising from farming equipment and vehicles.

Increased public access to estate land – we are introducing a permissive path around the perimeter of the project for the duration of the scheme, allowing for circa 4.5km of permissive path to be added to the vicinity of the village.

Education opportunity for local school children with the potential use of interpretation boards and enabling educational site visits.

A community benefit fund is being offered of £350 per installed megawatt per annum for a duration of 10 years.