Planning application · Solar · Braintree

Four Elms Solar Array

Operational0.2 MWApplication 20/01631/FULSubmitted 1 October 2020Granted 1 February 2021

In the evidence packnearest refused scheme •• kmShown in the pack

The application

Application number: 20/01631/FUL
Planning authority: Braintree
County or area: Essex
Nation: England
Technology: Solar
Capacity: 0.2 MW
Status: Operational
Operator or applicant: F H Nash Limited
Location: Factory R/o Four Elms, Bardfield Road, Bardfield, Braintree, CM7 5EJ
First operating: 2021

Timeline

1 October 2020 Planning application submitted
1 February 2021 Planning permission granted
1 September 2021 Operational

Preview of the planning evidence pack for this site

The pack for this site lists 89 comparable solar incidents in the United Kingdom, nearest first. The nearest is EIR-2223, Homeowners allege solar panel fault caused Tolleshunt Knights house fire, 27 km from this site.

Reference	Year	Incident	From the site	Severity
EIR-2223	2023	Homeowners allege solar panel fault caused Tolleshunt Knights house fire	27 km	Major
EIR-1537	2021	Garage fire from overheated solar batteries in South Woodham Ferrers	33 km	Minor
EIR-1530	2023	Electrical fault causes solar panel fire in Wickford house	35 km	Minor
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The first 3 rows as the pack shows them. The other 86 are in the pack, each with its distance, sources and the fire service guidance it bears on.

The map

Summary for this site

This part of the pack is written for this site and opens with the pack. This part of the pack is written for this site and opens with the pack. This part of the pack is written for this site and opens with the pack.

Paragraphs for the planning statement

In the full pack

What the planning evidence pack adds for this application

The pack is made for Four Elms Solar Array from the register and the government planning database: every comparable incident, nearest first, with its sources; the schemes refused, withdrawn or taken to appeal within 40 km, your council first; and the fire service guidance each incident bears on. One fixed, dated file, as a PDF, a web page and a Word document.

Incidents within 50 km: •••
Nearest recorded incident: ••••••
UK grid-scale incidents, with NFCC notes: ••••
Schemes refused within 40 km: •••
Nearest refused scheme: ••••••••••••
Appeals within 40 km: •••
Decisions in Braintree: ••••••••
Sites of a similar size, worldwide: ••••
NFCC guidance points: ••••••••
Sources and citations: ••••••••••

Launch price: £145 until 31 October (normally £295). By email in minutes. The order form arrives filled in from this application.

Get the full planning pack Download a sample pack (PDF)

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Want to see a pack first? Download a sample pack (PDF). It is an example pack for a 50 MW battery project in Lincolnshire, with every section and the first rows of each table.

The site's own page has its map, the energy sites around it and anyone can follow it for changes. Every planning application. Every application in Braintree.

Data updated 3 August 2026 from the Renewable Energy Planning Database (DESNZ), published quarterly.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Renewable Energy Planning Database, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). The dataset. The register adds only the incidents and the counts.