Enviromena Secures Planning Approval for 16 MW St Mary in the Marsh Solar Farm in Kent

Enviromena, a UK-based independent power producer, has secured planning consent from Folkestone & Hythe District Council to build a 16 MWac St Mary in the Marsh solar farm near New Romney and Newchurch in Kent, England.

The project, which will connect directly to the local electricity distribution network, is expected to generate enough renewable power to supply the equivalent of more than 10,500 homes and contribute to regional and national efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost clean energy capacity. As part of the planning approval, the development will include solar photovoltaic panels along with associated infrastructure such as inverters, substations, access tracks, and landscaping, and is designed to deliver biodiversity enhancements while protecting existing hedgerows and habitats.

The solar facility would span 40 hectares (100 acres) — equivalent to about 55 football pitches — on agricultural land off St Mary's Road, opposite Marten Farm, in the Folkestone and Hythe District. After a proposed 40-year lifespan, the panels would be decommissioned, and the land restored to its current condition or improved, with added benefits including native planting, wildflower meadows, and ongoing ecological monitoring to enhance biodiversity and strengthen the local ecosystem. The project has faced significant pushback, with over 80 residents objecting on grounds that it would irreparably spoil the distinctive Romney Marsh landscape, destroy wildlife habitats, degrade soil quality on what they describe as "good agricultural land," and create a precedent for more such developments that could threaten future farming.