Third Revolution Projects have secured consent for a Solar Farm and co-located Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) via planning committee on a 29.49 hectare site in Braintree District Council in March 2026. The proposal is situated near the village of High Garrett, approximately 2.5km north-east of Braintree, and will generate up to 16.5MW of solar energy and store up to 22.5MW of electricity, with capacity to power up thousands of homes.

The scheme is effectively an extension to an existing solar farm at Kentishes Farm (consented under 14/00922/FUL), utilising remaining grid capacity from the existing connection infrastructure and a merged grid offer from the DNO. This pre-determined connection arrangement informed site selection and required careful justification through a Site Justification Report, which TRP coordinated as part of the application. The site was confirmed as entirely Sub-Grade 3b agricultural land, not Best and Most Versatile,  which was a key factor in satisfying both national policy and Local Plan Policy LPP73.

A key planning consideration on this site was the proximity of Ancient Woodland to the southern boundary and the presence of Grade II listed heritage assets in the wider setting, notably Boultwood's Farmhouse to the north-east. TRP worked closely with the client, landscape, ecologists, and heritage consultants to ensure these sensitivities were addressed. It was concluded that there is only a low level of less than substantial harm to the setting of Boultwood's Farmhouse, which was successfully weighed against the public benefits of the scheme, allowing officers to recommend approval.

Ecology and biodiversity were central to the design approach. The scheme retains all existing trees and hedgerows with the exception of 24 metres of hedgerow required to facilitate an access track, and delivers a 14.73% habitat unit Biodiversity Net Gain and 10.40% hedgerow unit gain, both exceeding the mandatory 10% threshold. The landscape and ecological strategy incorporates species-rich grassland between solar panels, gapping up of existing hedgerows, and continued agricultural use of the land through sheep grazing beneath the arrays.

The application attracted only three public representations and was supported by Stisted Parish Council. Officers concluded that the renewable energy and biodiversity benefits of the development clearly outweighed the limited and localised harms, and the application was recommended for approval and granted at planning committee on 10th March 2026, with the decision notice following in June.