Aura Power wants a 65MW solar farm at Scriven and Hay-a-Park. Its own survey puts 54% of the land in the best and most versatile grades. Drop-in is 2 September.

A 65MW solar farm is being planned on two blocks of farmland either side of Knaresborough. The developer, Aura Power, is holding a drop-in exhibition in the town on Wednesday 2 September, 4pm to 7pm, at the Stockwell Wellbeing Hub, 79 Stockwell Avenue, HG5 0LG. There is no need to book.

Nothing has been submitted yet. The company says it intends to apply to North Yorkshire Council in December 2026 (project page).

Where it would go

The scheme is called Bar Lane Solar Farm and it comes in two parts:

  • a western area at Scriven and Farnham, reached from Greengate Lane and Market Flat Lane
  • an eastern area at Hay-a-Park, reached from Bar Lane

Aura Power says it has secured a grid connection with Northern Powergrid at Knaresborough substation and needs to connect before 2030. It also says it is looking at more land than it will finally use, so the layout can still move in response to what people say.

Construction traffic would come off the A1(M) at junction 48 and along Boroughbridge Road, which the company says would keep lorries out of Scriven and Knaresborough. It puts the build at nine to twelve months.

The land classification

This is the part worth asking about on Wednesday.

The community leaflet handed out for the consultation says the site “is not located on highest-quality agricultural land”. The company’s own webinar slides, presented on 27 August, record that an Agricultural Land Classification report has been prepared and that 54 per cent is BMV.

BMV means best and most versatile: grades 1, 2 and 3a. National planning policy tells councils to avoid the best land where they can, and to justify using it when they cannot. Grade 1 and 2 land is the “highest quality”, so the two statements are not a contradiction, but 54 per cent BMV is a material figure and it is not on the leaflet.

The slides say the eastern land is used for grazing, that grazing would continue under the panels, and that one of the landowners has found crops for human consumption difficult to grow there.

Bar Lane Solar Farm timeline, from consultation to energisation Timeline: online webinar 27 August 2026; drop-in exhibition in Knaresborough 2 September 2026; stage two consultation with a revised layout November 2026; planning application submitted December 2026; North Yorkshire Council decision 2027; construction 2028 over nine to twelve months; anticipated energisation winter 2028 to 2029. Source: Aura Power project page and webinar slides. Two chances to comment before the application is even lodged Bar Lane Solar Farm, Knaresborough: the developer's own published timeline 27 Aug 2026 Online webinar held 2 Sep 2026 Drop-in exhibition, Knaresborough Nov 2026 Stage 2: revised layout shown Dec 2026 Planning application submitted 2027 Council decision 2028 Construction, 9 to 12 months Winter 2028/29 Anticipated energisation Source: Aura Power, Bar Lane Solar Farm project page and online webinar slides of 27 August 2026 The project page gives summer 2027 for the decision; the webinar slides say autumn 2027 North Yorkshire Council will run its own consultation once the application is submitted Graphic by Harrogate Live
The drop-in on 2 September is the first of two consultation stages. The council's own consultation only starts after the application arrives, expected in December.

What else the slides show

  • Surveys under way include breeding and wintering birds, bats, badgers, riparian mammals, landscape and visual impact, noise, heritage and a geophysics survey for archaeology.
  • The land is predominantly in flood zone 1, the lowest flood risk category.
  • A glint and glare assessment will be submitted with the application.
  • The company promises biodiversity gains “well in excess” of the 10 per cent required, secured through a landscape and ecological management plan.
  • The deck includes a slide on optional battery storage. The project page and the community leaflet describe a solar farm only and do not say a battery is part of this scheme, so it is a fair question to put to the team.

What the area would get

Aura Power offers a community benefit fund of £26,000 a year for the life of the solar farm, for local social, educational and environmental projects. It says the development would pay over £100,000 a year in business rates to North Yorkshire Council.

The company also acknowledges, in its own words, that “there are already proposals for energy infrastructure in the local area”, and that this “may raise questions and concerns for local people”.

What it means for you

  • Wednesday 2 September, 4pm to 7pm, Stockwell Wellbeing Hub, 79 Stockwell Avenue, Knaresborough HG5 0LG. Just turn up. The project team will be there.
  • If you cannot make it, the webinar recording, the slides and the community leaflet are all on the project page, and there are interactive maps for the eastern and western areas where you can pin a comment on a specific spot.
  • Comments now go to the developer, not the council. They are worth making anyway: the layout, screening, setbacks from houses and traffic routing are all things Aura says are still open.
  • The formal chance to object or support comes later. North Yorkshire Council runs its own consultation once the application lands, expected in December. We will flag it on our Harrogate planning news page when it does.
  • A second round of public events is promised for November, with a revised layout.

Aura Power’s contact for the scheme is barlanesolarfarm@aurapower.com.