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About the Developer
Statkraft is at the heart of the UK's energy transition. Since 2006, Statkraft has gone from strength to strength in the UK, building experience across wind, solar, hydro, storage, grid stability and EV charging.
Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations, with approximately 5,700 employees in 21 countries.
Across our UK business we employ over 300 staff in England, Scotland and Wales and play a key role in helping the global business reach its goal of 9 GW of development wind and solar power by 2025.
About the Project
The site includes a suitable connection to National Grid which means there is no need to add grid infrastructure such as pylons outside the site boundary.
There is also excellent solar irradiation and land which is not of the highest agricultural quality.
It is expected the site will generate enough energy to power over 15,500 homes. This is based on an installed capacity of up to 49.9MW, solar irradiation assessments and average GB domestic consumption of 3,509kWh per annum (BEIS December 2022).
Since March 2023, we have been consulting local people on our proposals and listening to feedback from residents close to the site regarding access arrangements which have been amended to minimise impacts on the local community.
As part of a planning application, we prepared a Construction and Environment Management Plan, which will regulate the access to the site and the hours of work. Construction of a solar energy farm typically takes 6 to 12 months.
After the parts have been delivered to site, there will be fewer vehicle movements as the site is built and then made operational. We will seek to adopt measures to minimise the construction impact on local communities. These will include a plan to manage deliveries to site, including prescribing routes which construction vehicles and deliveries must follow.
Once the 40 years operational life is complete, the solar arrays and site infrastructure will be decommissioned, and the site will return to its original use.
We are exploring opportunities for sheep grazing on-site to maintain agricultural use while the panels are in operation.
Local Benefits
The site has been chosen to support the decarbonisation of the local area and National Grid, which will contribute to the Government’s target of 70GW of solar generation capacity in place by 2035.
This project will support Dover District Council’s Climate Change Strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
If consented, this project will generate a Community Benefit Fund of over £350,000 over the operational lifetime.
We will work with the local communities to develop a fund that helps meet local priorities.
A variety of goods and services will be required throughout construction - you can register your interest or recommend a local company via our suppliers register.
Biodiversity and the Natural Environment
We’ve conducted specialist surveys to understand the quality of the land. These have shown that the land is not classed as high-quality grade agricultural land, something rare in this part of the country. This means Little South can support the decarbonisation of the local area without affecting any ‘best and most versatile’ (BMV) land.
We are proposing extensive measures to support waterfowl, through retaining and enhancing the ecologically valuable ditch network around the site.
Our application includes assessments of potential impacts on individual species (ducks, geese, swans, waders, rails, herons and gulls).
We will regenerate c.50 hectares of the Local Wildlife Site to Coastal and Floodplain Grazing Marsh. This will create Priority Habitat/Habitat of Principal Importance, in line with local and national planning policy.
Grazing marshes are particularly important to maintain the numbers of breeding wading birds.
We are working with specialist consultants and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that Little South Solar Farm does not increase the risk of flooding on the site in the surrounding area.
This assessment forms an essential part of the planning application.
We are fully committed to preserving and enhancing areas to wetlands for animals and migrating birds. Our plans include retaining and enhancing the ecologically valuable ditch network around the site to support waterfowl habitats, as well as water vole, otters, and aquatic plants. We will deliver an overall Biodiversity Net Gain on the site.
We have specifically focussed on this vital grazing marsh to prioritise the need for this habitat in the local area. We will generate 23% biodiversity net gain, significantly higher than national and local policy targets.
16 ha of the site will be set aside for a new Nature Restoration Area.
We will deliver around 25% of the 200 hectares recommended Coastal Floodplain Grazing Marsh creation target for the Stour Valley Biodiversity Opportunity Area.
Support for important local species around the site is a key element of our plans. Our proposal also includes a large buffer zone to the north east of the site, preserving and respecting the character of nearby heritage assets. This buffer will improve the conditions of the Ash Level and South Richborough Pasture Local Wildlife Site (LWS) whilst also protecting and enhancing the setting of the Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre heritage asset.
There will be a 142% Biodiversity net gain in hedgerows.
Our proposals will include extensive screening, including trees, hedgerows and shrubs. In response to feedback, we have reduced the height of the panels and added an additional landscape buffer.
Approximately 900 metres of new native species hedgerow will be planted helping to restore historic character of the surrounding countryside while creating much needed habitats for wildlife and providing vital corridors for species such as bats, birds and bees.
Our plans aim to protect local heritage whilst delivering clean energy for the future. We have incorporated feedback into our plans from experts including Historic England, English Heritage and Dover Conservation Officer by reducing the proposed height of the panels from 4.46m to 2.7m.
We also increased the proposed distance of panels from Richborough Roman Fort to almost 600 metres from the amphitheatre and over 1km from the fort. To ensure views from the site are screened as much as possible from these important local heritage assets we will use a range of natural screening and a design that seeks to enhance and work with the local landscape, including 900m of new native species hedgerow. This will help to restore the historic character of the surrounding countryside while creating much-needed habitats for wildlife and providing vital corridors for species such as bats, birds and bees.
Consulting the Community
In 2022, we consulted Dover District Council on the opportunities and constraints, as well as the potential for environmental impacts of the scheme, through a process known as ‘EIA Scoping’.
After that, we consulted on the plans with consultees and local communities in Spring 2023 which gave us an opportunity to update and revise our proposals with the input of local people.
As a direct response to the feedback received from our public consultation at the beginning of March 2023, our proposals now include:
- Reducing the maximum height for panels from 4.46m to 2.7m
- Adding a new 16 ha nature restoration area, including wildflower grassland and drainage ditches to the north east of the site
- Adding a temporary access road for construction traffic to bypass tight corners during construction and adding two different access points for construction vehicles
- Reducing the area of the solar panels so that they are now more than 1km away from Richborough Roman Fort
We’ve now submitted the plans for Little South Solar Farm and you can hear more as the plans progress through the planning system by visiting our Get in Touch page.
If you register for updates, we’ll be sure to email you with details of major project milestones.
We will also update our Project Updates page as the project progresses. Please do get in touch if you have any questions for the project team.
Solar Farms
Solar panels require daylight rather than direct sunlight. This means that a site will generate power even on an overcast day.
Unfortunately, there are a limited number of rooftops which are suitable for large scale solar development. Rooftops can be too old, not at an optimal angle, made of the wrong materials or not enough roof space.