The different types of partnership BSR maintains
Parish Council partnerships
We work with parish and town councils in the areas where we develop, build and run solar projects. After completing pre-application work and initial site design, we connect with local representatives. We keep communications clear and active throughout planning, construction, and beyond. Some councils want light-touch email updates. Others want regular meetings. We follow their lead.
Conservation and ecological partnerships
We work with organisations whose expertise shapes how we manage our sites. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is one of our conservation partners. They guide us on how to restore and enhance essential habitats for pollinators across our sites. These are working relationships with results on the ground.
Community and voluntary sector partnerships
Our involvement in local life goes beyond our project sites. We stay close to the people we serve and invest in the communities we work in by supporting local causes and events across the areas where we work.
We’re headquartered in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and it’s here that our support to the community shows up most consistently. We’re rooted in the region, being present, approachable, and grounded in the community we call home. Each year, we support local causes and events there, not because a solar farm is nearby, but because it’s where we live and work.
Parish Council partnerships in practice
Step 1: We introduce ourselves
Once we finish our pre-application work and have a first site design, we reach out to the relevant parish council. We usually attend a parish meeting to present the scheme and answer questions. From this point, you get a named contact from our team.
Step 2: We stay in touch through planning
We actively reach out to parishes and councillors to discuss plans together. We answer questions from councillors and residents, share updates when the scheme changes, and join meetings with the council whenever requested. Some councils like close, regular contact. Others prefer written updates. We work together to meet their needs.
We agree on the Community Benefit Agreement
All our projects include a community benefit fund as standard, which we shape alongside partners. For every fund, we organise a formal document known as the Community Benefit Agreement. This is the only formal agreement between a local community and us, as there is no separate partnership contract. It sets out the fund's terms, how it's run, and who can apply.
Step 4: We keep talking through construction and beyond
Engagement doesn't stop once planning is granted. During construction, we send a quarterly newsletter and keep a dedicated contact available. Once operational, we stay close to the communities that host our sites for the long-run.
Partnerships in practice - Knowl Green Solar Park, Essex
We’re proud to have led the planning for Knowl Green Solar Park, a 49.99MW solar project in Belchamp St Paul, Essex. Braintree District Council approved the planning permission in December 2024, and the site is now under construction.
We ran a five-week consultation with the community before submitting our planning application. Feedback from the consultation brought real changes. We removed a construction compound to lessen traffic. We also planted three extra rows of trees around the site to reduce its visual impact.
The community benefit fund is already at work. We granted £50,000 to Belchamp Community House, a well-loved facility serving seven rural parishes. We released £25,000 in 2025 to start insulation and efficiency upgrades. A second £25,000 followed in 2026 to finalise insulating the building, replacing the windows, and adding underfloor insulation in the main hall.
The results already show that heating demand is expected to drop by up to 78%, and energy costs by at least 50%. The building now offers warm, accessible space all year for the seven parishes it serves.
Clive Waite, Trustee of Belchamp Community House, said: “We couldn’t have asked for more. The works have gone extremely well, and the halls look absolutely wonderful. This is in large part thanks to the generous grant from BSR, for which we are incredibly grateful.”
An extra £50,000 will be available from the Essex Community Foundation when Knowl Green Solar Park starts operating fully. This grant will be open to local initiatives via an application process.
expected drop in heating demand
expected drop in energy costs
Our conservation partnership - Bumblebee Conservation Trust
We work with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to shape how we manage habitats and planting for pollinators across our sites. Their expertise helps us choose wildflower mixes, nectar-rich planting strips, and manage grasslands. We build these choices into our designs from the planning stage, not as an afterthought.
“British Solar Renewables are demonstrating a clear commitment to considering biodiversity across its solar portfolio, working collaboratively to explore opportunities to create habitats for bumblebees and other pollinators.” – Bumblebee Conservation Trust
At Dengie Solar Park, Essex, this partnership has shaped the site in practice. We are turning this 33-hectare former arable farm into a pollinator-focused landscape, informed by Bumblebee Conservation Trust guidance: wildflower-rich meadows that bloom across the seasons, hedgerows planted with hawthorn, blackthorn and dog rose for early-season nectar, and areas of bare earth and tussocky grass for ground-nesting species. Deadwood piles support cavity-nesting bees like mason bees, and low-intensity, low-pesticide grassland management keeps the site stable and undisturbed for nesting colonies.
BSR in Shepton Mallet - our home community
We’re headquartered in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. It’s more than an address for us – it’s our home, and we support our community in ways beyond our solar farm projects, including:
Mid Somerset Show
The annual county’s agricultural show, held in Shepton Mallet. It’s a chance to stand alongside the farmers and landowners we work with every day.
Collett Park Day
A community event held in the town’s Collett Park that brings neighbours together. We enjoy being part of the day rather than just funding it from a distance.
Somerset Children’s Parliament
Uur support for young people’s civic engagement across the county. We’ve judged entries and sponsored prizes for winning schools, because we want young people to see that their ideas can shape real change. Learn more about the Somerset Children’s Parliament
Shepton Hedgelaying Sponsorship
Uur support for the traditional countryside craft of hedgelaying. It’s a skill that shapes the landscape where we operate, and sponsoring it is one way we help keep that heritage alive.
Shepton Snowdrops Project
Uur volunteers planted snowdrop bulbs in public spaces and along roadside verges. This continues the legacy of the town’s 19th-century “Snowdrop King,” James Allen. Read about the Shepton Snowdrops Project
What a partnership with BSR involves
Whatever form our partnerships take, we run them with the communities in mind, and we follow your lead rather than imposing a fixed structure.
What a partnership with BSR involves
It starts before we submit a planning application and continues through planning, development, and operation, with one named contact throughout each stage. We keep communication going for the life of the project. Once a site is operational, we set up a community benefit fund, governed by a Community Benefit Agreement.
If you're a conservation or ecological organisation
A partnership means a working relationship. Your expertise shapes real decisions and work on the ground, like habitat design, planting choices, and how we manage land over time. We build this in together from the planning stage for every project.
If you're a local charity, community group, or voluntary organisation
A partnership might mean support for an event or cause close to home – particularly around Shepton Mallet, where we’re based – or funding through a community benefit fund if you’re near one of our sites.
How partnerships differ from community benefit fund grants
A community benefit fund is money set aside by a renewable energy company to support the local community hosting a project. Energy providers usually set up the fund once a site starts generating power. Local groups, charities, and community organisations nearby can then apply for money from it. The fund is governed by a Community Benefit Agreement and tied to one specific project.
A community partnership is a broader relationship. It’s usually with a parish council, conservation body, or local organisation. It’s built on engagement and shared stewardship, and shared goals and values to support the local community.
Some organisations are both – a parish council might engage with us through planning and see its residents apply for grant funds too. The two things are related, but they’re managed separately.
A note on BSR's international partnerships
Our approach to community partnership isn’t limited to the UK – it’s built into how we work everywhere. We created the Mackenzie River Solar Farm in Central North Queensland, Australia, in partnership with the Barada Kabalbara Yetimarala (BKY) People. As part of our Reconciliation Action Plan, we commissioned artwork from BKY artist Samantha Bond.
Get in touch
Contact us
If you represent a parish council, local charity, conservation group, or community group near our projects or our Shepton Mallet headquarters.
Community Commitment Programme Lead
For general questions about community partnerships and our Community Commitment programme, contact Natasha Worrall, who leads this work at BSR.
Check out the projects page
If you have a question about a specific project in planning or construction, check the project page for the team’s contact details.