Great North Road

Tir Collective is delivering the landscape design for the Great North Road Solar Park, a major renewable energy and biodiversity project to the north west of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. The scheme would generate and store up to 800MW AC of solar energy, enough to power approximately 400,000 homes, while contributing significantly to the UK’s decarbonisation targets.

Our design approach for the Great North Road Solar Park is landscape- and ecology-led. We are preparing a full suite of masterplans and technical drawings in close coordination with layout designers and ecologists. The total Order Limits extend to circa 1,765 ha, with large areas set aside for ecological enhancement, species-rich grasslands, new tree and hedgerow planting, and biodiversity corridors.

Key deliverables include:

• A 1:100,000 landscape masterplan and four regional quadrant plans (NW, NE, SW, SE) at 1:30,000

• 62 no. Landscape and Ecology Management Plans (LEMPs) at 1:2,500

• Detailed, scheduled planting for trees, hedgerows, scrub, woodland, and wildflower meadows

• Public footpath retention and diversions

• Arboricultural survey coordination and vegetation retention/removal

• Environmental mitigations (e.g. acoustic buffers near the BESS)

• A GIS-linked database to tag, schedule, and calculate Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

• A comprehensive landscape specification to support the wider LEMP

Regular design workshops and team meetings ensure that the evolving proposals for the Great North Road Solar Park meet all planning, technical, and ecological requirements, and fully integrate the energy infrastructure with long-term green infrastructure benefits.