A 23-megawatt solar park will be built on a 114-hectare site between Christian Malford and Dauntsey near Chippenham
Swallett Energy Park(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
A solar park spanning the equivalent of 160 football pitches is set to be built near Chippenham, following the approval of a government inspector. Ben Plenty, from the Planning Inspectorate, overruled Wiltshire Council’s initial refusal after a public inquiry held just before Christmas.
Exagen Development Limited lodged an application in December 2023 for a 23-megawatt renewable energy park on a 114-hectare site situated between Christian Malford and Dauntsey.
The proposed Swallett Energy Park would consist of “strings” of hundreds of solar panels, reaching up to 3.1 metres above ground level, spaced between three to six metres apart and mounted on metal frames, as per the application.
Additional infrastructure would encompass a new 33kV substation, linked via an underground cable.
According to the applicants, the solar park would generate enough electricity to supply 9,400 homes.
Over 50 letters of objection were submitted against the development, including objections from Christian Malford Parish Council.
Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee rejected the plans in March 2025, citing concerns about the landscape and the impact on designated heritage assets.
Exagen contested the council’s reasons for refusal in September, leading to a one-day hearing on December 16, which followed a site visit involving the inspector, a representative of Exagen, and a Wiltshire Council officer the previous day.
In his findings, the Inspector examined the visual impact of the development.
“The local landscape includes the M4 corridor and railway lines in cuttings and embankments,” he said.
“The proposed development would locate solar arrays within the existing field pattern.
“It would retain and enhance hedge and tree groups within the site, thereby retaining the structure of field boundaries and keeping field patterns intact.
“As such, the proposal would have a largely non-invasive and restorative impact on the landscape features defined as important to the character areas.”
He also recognised that residents of Malford House and Great Ridgeway Farm – both 1700s properties – would have views of the development from their homes.
However, he stated the visual impact would diminish from ‘major’ to ‘moderate’ after 15 years “once landscape mitigation has reached maturity.”
He further concluded that “there is insufficient evidence to indicate that the proposal would affect tourism across the wider area, businesses or canal users.”
