Lightsource is currently seeking the following expertise/involvement in the schemes from the local area:

• Residents to provide local knowledge and input into the initial designs and planning
• Wildlife enthusiasts, as solar farms provide excellent opportunities to enhance biodiversity and support local initiatives
• Security personnel
• Traffic management & civil roadways experts
• Accommodation & Food and Beverage providers
• Storage and logistics businesses
• Fencing experts
• Landscapers specialising in local/native species

Preliminary proposals for both solar farms are now available to view online on Lightsource’s web based ‘Planning Portal’, where local residents are invited to provide input and help to shape the projects as they evolve. Drop-in information evenings will also be held in local venues close to the two sites:

Land West of Hawkspur Green (South of Little Sampford)
3rd April at Town Hall, Dunmow Road, Great Bardfield, CM7 4SA

Land at Tye Green Farm (South of Elsenham)
4th April at Memorial Hall, Elsenham, CM22 6BY

According to Conor McGuigan, planning and development director at Lightsource Renewable Energy,  both projects, west of Hawkspur Green and at Tye Green Farm, will accommodate sheep grazing to continue the land’s agricultural use. As he explains, the panels will be raised on a framework which means grass can establish throughout the fields, including the area underneath the panels.

"The structures are, by no means, a permanent alteration to the landscape, either," McGuigan added. "At at the end of the solar farm’s working life, the framework will be pulled out and the land fully restored."