30MW solar farm in Malshanger, Hampshire, secures planning approval

We were thrilled to learn that plans for a solar farm at Hook Lane, Malshanger, were approved by the development control committee of Basingstoke and Deane on Wednesday 11^th February 2026. The development will help the UK to meet increasing demands for electricity and contribute towards decarbonising the energy system as well as providing a more secure and stable energy supply for the country.

The solar farm and associated infrastructure will generate 30 Megawatts (MW), enough power for circa 8,000 local homes. The development is expected to take around a year to construct and has an operational lifecycle of 40 years.

Create were appointed in June 2025 by the planning agent Starlight Energy to provide transport consultancy services in support of a planning application for this logistically challenging site, which is located adjacent to the North West Downs National Landscape and features numerous public rights of way around the site.

Our team conducted a review of Automatic Traffic Count (ATC) data in order to better understand baseline traffic conditions along the main access route from the B3400, Andover Road. We also carried out an assessment of the existing highway network and identified appropriate locations for new passing places, including the formalisation of existing passing places not currently recognised.

The highway route from the strategic road network to the proposed site access measures approximately 3.5km in length and is subjected to numerous constraints such as narrow single lane sections, steep embankments, poor forward visibility, mature tree specimens, tight bends, and existing accesses to private dwellings/ businesses. Due to the challenging nature of the highway network, additional measures were required to facilitate the proposed construction traffic. This included temporary traffic management along the access route, in the form of one-way working sections and linked marshal operated stop-go points. Create provided fully tested preliminary traffic management design plans for the proposed access strategy and refined the access strategy accordingly.

With our technical documentation and services completed, a robust planning submission was submitted to the council, which included full details of both construction and cable routes, alongside details on highway safety during construction and decommissioning.