Testimonials | Countryside

LANDOWNER TESTIMONIALS

We purchase land and lease land on long-term leaseholds. We prefer to buy land but are happy to lease. Here is what landowners who have worked with us have to say about their experience:

David Peters, Landowner of Rhyd y Groes

Rhyd-y-Groes has been farmed by my family for many generations here in North Anglesey. We are advocates of harnessing natural resources and were the first in Wales to install wind turbines on our land, connected to the local power grid.

We were approached by Countryside Renewables, who had identified land in the area as being suitable to develop a solar farm. After a successful negotiation and agreement Countryside Renewables moved quickly and efficiently to draw up plans for a 50MW solar farm on 190 acres of ours and a neighbour’s land. Due to the scale of the development, we were always concerned about the visibility of solar panels from our home but Countryside Renewables’ layouts were sympathetic to this and despite the size we don’t see much of it at all. They also engaged and worked with neighbours to develop natural screening solutions to minimise the wider impact.

Countryside approached the planning process diligently and professionally as they did with all other aspects of the development and kept us informed regularly. They brought in experts from around the country and developed simple solutions to the various problems that came up. Mark and John were great to work with.

The installation is now complete, we feel the project has been a great success and we look forward to making our contribution to the environment.

Martin Smith, Landowner of Burnham Wick Farm

Countryside Renewables oversaw the development of a 5MW, 22000-panel solar farm on a 25-acre site at Burnham Wick Farm. After an initial approach by the landowner to a larger company, scoping showed that a preferred site would be located a reasonable distance from Burnham, they chose not to proceed.

Countryside Renewables literally knocked on the door with a positive “can do” attitude to drive the project ahead. Various hurdles were successfully negotiated with an all important grid connection being the starting point. Planning was given considerable care with environmental aspects being incorporated into the design to fit with the landowners on farm ethos. Particular features included a screening mixed hedge and wildflower sowing both within and outside the perimeter fence. Nest boxes and dead wood were incorporated into the design to encourage birdlife and reptiles. A viewing platform was constructed affording a clear view of the site acting as an ideal position for local school trips to study solar power.

The installation proceeded quickly and efficiently with a range of teams involved in the design and implementation of the project, a true multinational affair with the workforce being drawn from within and outside Europe. The project manager overseeing the construction worked closely with the landowner facilitating deliveries and cable route development enabling the construction phase to proceed with minimal impact on the day job of farming.

Countryside Renewables guided the whole from project from its inception to completion in an efficient and positive manner with a good working relationship with the landowner and were able to overcome a whole range of potential deal breakers to construct a valuable asset to local electricity generation, I would strongly support working with them!

Adrian Pickett, Landowner of Canopus Farm

As a land owner in Lincolnshire , I was first approached by the team at Countryside Renewables , after a desktop study , about the possibility of building a solar farm on my land. I must admit that at first I was a little sceptical , as it was something completely out of the blue , but after our first initial meeting and site visits, I could tell that they were serious about their proposal and were confident that they could see the plan to fruition. They were not afraid to devote both time and resources to making sure that it happened.

As the site is on my family farm , and close to my own home , it was important to me ,as well as my neighbours , that the development would not have a detrimental impact visually or environmentally . Between us , we developed a scheme of hedge planting and grass seeding ,which now they are coming to maturity , have done a great job of screening the site and providing a haven for wildlife that is for the most part undisturbed. We also graze the site with sheep so the land still has an agricultural benefit.

The Countryside Renewables team maintained regular contact with me during the planning process , and once permissions were granted and the build was underway , they made several site visits to check on progress . Legal process is notoriously slow but my solicitor received speedy responses from Countrysides legal team to any queries that he had, and overall I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively painless the process was .

The company that now carries out the day to day maintenance on the site , regularly tell me that this is one of their best sites , as there are rarely any issues deal with. I guess this is because of the quality of the original design and build.

Overall ,I am really happy that this project succeeded ,both from a financial and environmental point of view , and am grateful to both John and Denis at Countryside Renewables for their skill and determination in making sure that it happened.