Report No. LOC1001/4 Date: February 2019

REQUEST FOR SCOPING OPINION: PARC SOLAR TRAFFWLL,

REQUEST FOR A SCOPING OPINION PROPOSED PV SOLAR FARM AND POWER STORAGE UNITS

PARC SOLAR TRAFFWLL | ANGLESEY

Prepared for Prepared by

www.thesirusgroup.com Scoping Request Proposed PV Solar Farm and Power Storage Units, Parc Solar Traffwll

PREPARED BY PREPARED FOR

REPORT NUMBER REPORT STATUS REVISION REPORT DATE LOC1001/4 FINAL - June 2019

WRITTEN & PREPARED BY James Cook | Principal Planner

REVIEWED & APPROVED BY David Baker | Development Director

AUTHORISED BY Sirius Planning

Sirius Planning | 2 Scoping Request Proposed PV Solar Farm and Power Storage Units, Parc Solar Traffwll

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 5 1.1 FORWARD ...... 6 1.2 SUMMARY OF SITE AND PROPOSAL ...... 6 1.3 PLANNING APPROACH ...... 7 1.4 REQUIREMENT FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ...... 7 1.5 PURPOSE OF THE SCOPING REPORT ...... 7 1.6 SCOPE AND FORMAT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT...... 8 1.7 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT TO DATE ...... 10 2. THE SITE AND SURROUNDINGS ...... 12 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 13 2.2 DESIGNATIONS ...... 13 3. THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ...... 15 3.1 OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSAL ...... 16 4. POLICY CONTEXT, NEED AND ALTERNATIVES ...... 17 4.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 18 4.2 NATIONAL CONTEXT ...... 18 4.3 LOCAL CONTEXT...... 18 4.4 ASSESSMENT OF NEED ...... 18 4.5 ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATIVES ...... 18 5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT CONSIDERATIONS ...... 21 5.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 22 5.2 BIODIVERSITY ...... 22 5.3 LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT ...... 26 5.4 HERITAGE...... 34 5.5 NOISE ...... 37 5.6 HYDROLOGY, FLOOD RISK AND DRAINAGE ...... 39 5.7 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ...... 42 5.8 TOPICS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSALS ...... 42 6. SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS ...... 46 6.1 CONCLUSION ...... 47

Sirius Planning | 3 Scoping Request Proposed PV Solar Farm and Power Storage Units, Parc Solar Traffwll

DRAWING SCHEDULE

Drawing Number Drawing Title Scale LOC1001/01/01 rev 1 Environmental Setting and Constraints 1:20,000 LOC1001/01/02 rev 3 Indicative Site Boundaries 1:20,000 LOC1001/06/01 - 07 Baseline Zone of Theoretical Visibility Plans 1:20,000 LOC1001/01/04 S1 – S6 Cable Route Options 1:5,000

APPENDIX SCHEDULE

Appendix No. Title A Illustrative Panoramic Viewpoints of the Deployment Areas B LVIA Method, Process and Assessment Tables C Heritage Desk Based Assessment Bat, Great Crested Newt, Water Vole and Otter Survey D Methodologies

Sirius Planning | 4 Scoping Request Proposed PV Solar Farm and Power Storage Units, Parc Solar Traffwll

1. INTRODUCTION Sirius Planning | 5 Scoping Request Proposed PV Solar Farm and Power Storage Units, Parc Solar Traffwll

1.1 FORWARD 1.1.1 Solar farms are a simple and established technology providing a source of safe and clean energy which produce zero emissions when in operation. Solar energy is not only sustainable; it is renewable meaning that we will never run out of it.

1.1.2 In 2017 Solar PV accounted for 12% of renewable electricity generation in the UK1. In 2017 there was circa 12.8GW of installed capacity of solar energy in the UK2

1.1.3 The Welsh Government’s recently published Planning Policy Edition 103 confirms that it: “…is committed to delivering the outcomes set out in Energy Wales: A Low Carbon Transition. Our priorities are: reducing the amount of energy we use in Wales; reducing our reliance on energy generated from fossil fuels; and actively managing the transition to a low carbon economy.” 1.1.4 Solar farms are an effective and unobtrusive way of creating the electricity we all use – with the panels having a low visual impact on the local landscape and creating no noise, pollution, by-products or emissions. Additionally, solar farms result in minimal disturbance to the ground and can enhance local biodiversity, for example through planting a range spec