Billionaire hedge fund manager Chris Rokos has won approval from local authorities to build a 40-acre solar farm on his 4,500-acre estate in Marlborough, Wiltshire. The project aims to power his Grade I listed stately home, Tottenham House, which is undergoing renovations and restoration. Neighbors object to the plan, citing concerns about visual and historical intrusion within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Capability Brown landscape. Despite opposition, planners approved the solar farm, estimating it will generate 794,600 kilowatt hours annually, with 44% for use on-site and the rest exported to the grid.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Chris Rokos, a billionaire hedge fund manager, won a planning battle in Wiltshire, England to build a 40-acre solar farm near his historic home, Tottenham House. The project aims to power his 100-bedroom mansion and includes restoration of the Grade I Listed property. However, local residents are concerned that the solar farm will be a significant visual intrusion in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a Grade II Registered Park and Garden, adjacent to a landscape designed by Capability Brown. Resident Richard Frics argues the development will set a harmful precedent for future planning applications, while another neighbor, Mark Colquhoun, highlights that the solar farm will affect views from nearby protected historic buildings.
Written for “Solar Farm Controversy” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
A billionaire has won a planning battle with his neighbours to build a huge solar farm to power his 100-bed mansion.
asserted
billionaire → win → mansion
Hedge fund owner Chris Rokos submitted the plans to transform 40 of the 4,500 acres of the house in Marlborough, Wiltshire, known as Tottenham House.
asserted
Rokos → submit → House
It will also be undergoing renovations to restore the Grade 1 Listed property.
asserted
It → undergo → property
But concerned neighbours are up in arms over the council's decision to approve the project, fearing it will be a 'substantial visual and historical intrusion.'
Resident Richard Frics said: 'The proposal will erode the special qualities of this Heritage Landscape.
asserted
proposal → approve → Landscape
It will also set an undesirable precedent for future planning applications elsewhere in the country.
asserted
It → set → country
In addition it will be in direct view of the Grade 2 listed stable block.
asserted
it → list → block
The glare from a three acre block of glass will massively change the outlook from this protected historic building.
asserted
glare → change → building
Not only will it be situated in an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) but also a Grade 2 Registered Park and Garden next to a Capability Brown landscape.'
asserted
it → situate → landscape
Another neighbour, Mark Colquhoun, said the overall restoration of the property, which was on the register of Heritage Assets at Risk, is 'an exemplary project.'
asserted
which → say → Risk
But he went on to say: 'To place modern energy infrastructure here undermines the character and legibility of this protected setting, contrary to national and local heritage policies...
asserted
place → go → policies
Plans have been approved to transform 40 of the 4,500 acres of the house in Marlborough, Wiltshire, known as Tottenham House, into a solar farm
asserted
Plans → approve → farm
The property is owned by billionaire hedge fund owner Chris Rokos (pictured)
Pictured: Mr Rokos's plan for solar farm at Tottenham House, submitted to the council
Concerned neighbours are up in arms over the council's decision to approve the project, fearing it will be a 'substantial visual and historical intrusion'
asserted
it → own → project
Despite being located within the estate's historic parkland, planners concluded the benefits of the project outweighed any harm to the heritage setting.
asserted
benefits → locate → setting
The proposed plot, situated on the northern boundary of the extensive plot, is currently used as pasture for dairy cows and for producing silage.
asserted
plot → propose → silage
The site adjoins a public footpath which runs between the hamlet of Durley and St Katharine's Church and primary school - though it is shielded from view by trees.
asserted
it → adjoin → trees
Once operational, the ground-mounted panels are expected to generate around 794,600 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to meet a significant share of the estate's energy needs.
asserted
panels → mount → needs
About 44 per cent of the electricity produced will be used on site, with the remainder exported to the local grid.
asserted
remainder → produce → grid
The scheme forms part of efforts to secure a more sustainable future for Tottenham House, one of Wiltshire's most significant historic properties.
asserted
scheme → form → properties
The array will be screened by existing woodland and new planting designed to reduce its visibility, while the panels will be mounted on screw piles rather than permanent concrete foundations.
asserted
panels → screen → foundations
This means the installation could be removed in the future if required.
uncertain
installation → mean → future
The land will also remain in agricultural use, with grazing able to continue around the panels.
asserted
grazing → remain → panels
The solar project was originally approved as part of a wider package of works that also includes a large water storage lagoon, a new mains water connection and landscape improvements across the estate.
asserted
that → approve → estate
While construction of the solar array can now proceed, further environmental management details will still need to be approved before work begins on other parts of the wider development, including the water lagoon and associated infrastructure.
asserted
work → proceed → lagoon
The former owner of Tottenham House, the Earl of Cardigan David Brudenell-Bruce, sold the 4,500-acre Savernake Estate to a developer in 2014 for £11.25m after it had been in the same family for 200 years.
asserted
it → sell → years
Tottenham House was part of the Savernake Estate, which dates back to the Norman Conquest when it was a Royal Hunting forest.
asserted
it → date → Conquest
The Aporia
