Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Wins Approval for Large Solar Farm Despite Neighbor Objections
Plans for a 40-acre solar installation at Chris Rokos's Wiltshire estate are approved, balancing energy needs with heritage concerns.
Hedge fund owner Chris Rokos has received approval to construct a 40-acre solar farm on his 4,500-acre estate in Marlborough, Wiltshire. The development at Tottenham House, a Grade 1 listed property currently undergoing renovations, aims to power the owner's 100-bed mansion and contribute to the estate's sustainable future.
Despite the project's location within the estate's historic parkland and adjacent to a Grade 2 listed stable block and registered park and garden, planning officials determined that the benefits of the solar farm outweighed potential harm to the heritage setting. The proposed site, currently used for dairy cow pasture and silage production, is situated on the estate's northern boundary and is largely screened from a public footpath by existing woodland.
Neighbors had voiced concerns that the solar farm would be a "substantial visual and historical intrusion," eroding the landscape's qualities and setting an undesirable precedent. Resident Richard Frics highlighted the potential glare from the panels and the impact on views from the listed stable block. Mark Colquhoun acknowledged the restoration of Tottenham House as exemplary but argued that modern energy infrastructure undermines the protected setting.
Once operational, the ground-mounted panels are expected to generate approximately 794,600 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, meeting a significant portion of the estate's energy demands. About 44% of this output will be used on-site, with the remainder being exported to the local grid.
The scheme incorporates measures to mitigate its visual impact, including screening by existing woodland and new planting. The panels will be mounted on screw piles, allowing for future removal if necessary, and agricultural grazing will continue around the installations.
The solar project is part of a broader development plan for Tottenham House, which also includes a water storage lagoon and landscape improvements. While the solar array construction can proceed, further details regarding environmental management for other aspects of the development require approval.
Tottenham House was formerly part of the Savernake Estate, which dates back to the Norman Conquest. The estate was sold by its previous owner, the Earl of Cardigan, in 2014.