Chelmsford
Longfield Solar Farm: Shapps gives go-ahead to vast scheme near Chelmsford
Monday 31 July 2023
One of the largest solar farms in the country is to be built near Chelmsford. Longfield Solar Farm will cover 940 acres of arable farmland between the planned Chelmsford Garden Village and Terling, having been granted development consent by Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The decision followed an Examination […] Read more >
Our final talk looks at the challenges of farming… please do join us!
Monday 28 February 2022
The fourth and final talk of our CPRE Essex winter series will be given by Christy Willett on Wednesday (March 2). It begins at 6.30pm via Zoom and will be entitled Challenges of Farming: Past, Present and Future. Ms Willett is an AHDB farmer from Galleywood, Chelmsford, where she farms 475 hectares of owned and […] Read more >
Danbury solar farm backed by city council
Wednesday 3 November 2021
The march of the solar farms continues, with an 86-acre plant at Danbury winning planning permission from Chelmsford City Council. The site’s developer, Low Carbon, says the site, which will lie in two parts either side of a quarry, will produce power for some 7,300 homes. The proposal had been criticised by Danbury Parish Council, […] Read more >
A12 widening: consultation expected next month
Monday 17 May 2021
Public consultation on the widening of the A12 between Chelmsford and the A120 should begin next month (June), Highways England has announced. Before any work can begin on the scheme, the length of the proposed route will be “investigated for undiscovered archaeology and evidence of local cultural heritage buried in the earth”. Already some 28 […] Read more >
… and plans for another solar farm
Wednesday 20 January 2021
The solar-farm proposals keep coming thick and fast! Consultation on a site of some 242 acres of farmland east of West Hanningfield ended last month and a planning application to Chelmsford City Council is expected soon. The Sandon Brook project is being developed by Low Carbon, which is reported to have stated that a full […] Read more >
We jingled, we didn’t mingle and we all had the most wonderful time!
Thursday 17 December 2020
David Knight, CPRE Essex chairman, joined some 500 others for the hugely successful Essex Farmers’ Drive-in Carol Service in Chelmsford Advertised as Jingling without the Mingling and held at Chelmsford City Racecourse on a chilly, grey and wet December afternoon, the brilliantly-organised Essex Farmers’ Drive-in Carol Service was an absolute pleasure. Led by Rev Canon Janet […] Read more >
Chance to take part in consultation on proposed solar farm
Thursday 10 December 2020
Another day, another consultation. This time for a solar farm near Chelmsford. Longfield Solar Farm is being put forward by EDF Renewables UK and Padero Solar for almost 940 acres north-east of Chelmsford and north of the A12 between Boreham and Hatfield Peverel. The developers say the scheme would generate electricity for up to 67,000 […] Read more >
Jingle but don’t mingle at drive-in carol service
Friday 4 December 2020
Goodness, have we ever been more in need of a good carol service! It has of course been one of the toughest years our country has endured in recent times – and for too many there has been tragedy. There is the hope of brighter times ahead, but we have, at the very least, a […] Read more >
The Green Belt: its value is obvious but it needs protecting more than ever, says new report
Wednesday 20 November 2019
Lying next to London, Essex is of course well served by the capital’s Green Belt. A report by a cross-party Parliamentary group shows that London’s Metropolitan Green Belt not only protects against urban sprawl but also provides vital countryside on our doorstep for health and well-being. Benefits include: • 26, 267 hectares of Sites of […] Read more >