Solar Farm update

Published: 30 June 2025

Solar Developments SCC Report from Stephen Whitby (Vice Chair)

1. Stephen stated that he was in favour of renewable energy and had solar panels at home since 2011.

2. He believed large solar scheme should be determined by a UK wide strategy rather than a piecemeal approach determined by a farmer’s willingness to accept payment, a proper strategy would take into account:

a) the local (ideally very local such as factory, office block etc) need to better balance supply with demand.

b) the necessary infrastructure such as pylons, cables in roads to connect to the electricity grid and the likely line losses in transporting electricity from where generated to be where it would be used. Note: Wales is a net exporter of electricity.

c) the impact on the landscape including use of agricultural land.

3. He summarised the RWE proposals from the handouts and presentations,

a) The maps show 3 arrays, Sesswick being the East Array.

b) Timescales show initial consultation from Feb. this year followed by a review of feedback and a second round of consultation in Spring-Autumn 2025 after which a planning application would be submitted with a decision anticipated by autumn 2026 followed by construction a year later.

c) The decision will be made in Cardiff as the scheme is of a scale that is deemed a DNS (Development of National Significance) for whom the Senedd has created a determining body called PEDW (Planning and Environment Decisions Wales).

4. He has attended three meetings in a private capacity relating to the proposed RWE solar farm:

a) 30 April Ruabon CC at which RWE gave a presentation. In his opinion RWE gave somewhat misleading statements. There was a mixed response but generally unfavourable, even angry at the statements particularly regarding the quality of affected land.

b) 13 May with Kerry Williams and Keith Edwards from WCBC highways and Cllr John Pritchard. Concerns were shared about the proposed access from Kiln lane and the general traffic disruption on Kiln Lane B5130. This followed a previous meeting in the WCBC Highways office on the industrial estate

5. Stephen suggested that the Local Development Plan (LDP) was currently unapproved and from what he had read WCBC could “fall back” on to the previous Unitary Development plan (UDP). There should be a case for WCBC being unable to support the solar proposal as the UDP shows much of the proposed land being designated Special Landscape Area with strict restrictions on development.

Note: Although not legally binding Special Landscape Areas (SLAs) are areas designated by local planning authorities to protect and enhance locally significant and attractive landscapes. They are considered comparable in quality to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Development proposals within SLAs require careful consideration to ensure they do not harm the landscape's character or quality. For some unexplained reason the LDP now shows “solar farm use” for much of the landscape to the south of Wrexham.

6. He suggested Planning Aid Wales is an organisation that may be able to help.

In response to a question about acreage Stephen referred to the additional detail available on RWEs website at: Butterfly / Glöyn Byw Solar Farm

Post meeting note West array stated to be 22-hectare Central array: 70 hectare East array (Sesswick): 54 hectare. I acre = 2.47 acres. Total area is therefore 360 acres.