Agenda item

The Executive are asked to note the content of report E/22/35 and authorise the Head of Planning and Interim Head of Regulatory Services (or equivalent), in consultation with the relevant Executive Member, to agree the Local Impact Report, Statement of Common Ground, the content of the draft DCO, and all further necessary representations by the District Council, together with post decision monitoring of planning conditions and enforcement of the DCO.

The Leader presented report E/22/35 which asked Members to note its content and authorise the Head of Planning and Interim Head of Regulatory Services (or equivalent), in consultation with the relevant Executive Member, to agree the Local Impact Report, Statement of Common Ground, the content of the draft DCO, and all further necessary representations by the District Council, together with post decision monitoring of planning conditions and enforcement of the DCO.

Members noted the legislative background to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) and how these were dealt with. The Executive had considered similar NSIP reports in respect of the Drax Bioenergy and Carbon Capture Project in April 2021, the Yorkshire GREEN Project in February 2022, the Humber Low Carbon Pipelines Project in July 2022 and the Helios Renewable Energy Project in September 2022. Applicants for infrastructure projects needed to make an application to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) for a Development Consent Order (DCO). The final decision was made by the Secretary of State on the recommendation of PINS, but Local Planning Authorities were statutory consultees in the process.

The report explained that East Yorkshire Solar Farm Limited were proposing to submit an application for a DCO for the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, associated electrical equipment, cabling, on-site energy storage facilities and grid connection infrastructure across a proposed site which lay between Selby and East Riding of Yorkshire. The proposed development would allow for an anticipated export of approximately 400 megawatts (MW) electrical capacity. Due to its proposed generating capacity being over 50MW, the proposed development was classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).

The Executive acknowledged that two rounds of public consultation were taking place; non-statutory consultation took place in Q2 2022; statutory consultation was anticipated in Q1/Q2 2023. It was anticipated that East Yorkshire Solar Farm Limited would submit their DCO application to PINS during Q3 2023.  

The Executive understood that once the DCO application had been submitted to PINS, PINS would have 28 days to decide whether or not the application met the standards required to be accepted for examination. Following acceptance, an Examining Authority would be appointed, and all Interested Parties invited to attend a Preliminary Meeting, run and chaired by the Examining Authority. PINS have up to six months to carry out the examination of the proposals through a series of structured and topic-based hearings which Officers may need to attend. After the examination a decision would be made by the Secretary of State, within 6 months of the close of the examination. Following this the Council would have the responsibility to discharge any planning conditions and enforce the terms of the DCO.

Executive Members asked about the grade of the agricultural land on which the solar farm would be built and expressed some concern about losing land on which produce could be grown; Officers confirmed that the applicant had informed them that detailed agricultural land classification assessments so far had revealed the majority of the site did not comprise best most versatile agricultural land and that the applicant would be required to provide evidence of this in due course to enable stakeholders to provide comment.

In attendance at the meeting was Ward Member for Camblesforth and Carlton, Councillor M Jordan, as part of the grid connection corridor would be in his ward. Councillor Jordan was invited to address the meeting by the Leader.

Councillor Jordan explained how the cabling ran down to Drax Power Station through his ward and would include the loss of an individual’s property through compulsory purchase. The aforementioned cabling would need to be installed into a large trench which would also affect the land of some local farmers. Councillor Jordan asked Officers when a response would be formulated on both this and other solar farm proposals in the area.

Officers reiterated that the decision on the solar farm was not one for the Council but for the Secretary of State; the Council would provide representations on the proposals at the statutory consultation stage and once the applications had been submitted, within which Members’ concerns and queries would be drawn out. It was important that all the various energy proposals being put forward within the district were considered as part of the cumulative impact assessment undertaken by the applicant. Other parts of the country were seeing similar applications. The East Yorkshire Solar Farm and Helios Renewable Energy Project were following similar timelines at present, with statutory consultation on both projects expected in Q2 of 2023 and application submission in Q3 2023. 

Members asked if the locations of the companies behind the solar farms could be commented upon; Officers explained that this was not a planning matter as the permission for applications lay with the land in question, not the applicants.

Executive Members acknowledged that many solar farms in the local area seemed to be more fragmented than in the past and queried as to why this was; Officers were unable to give a definitive answer but suggested it was due to their very large size and subsequent difficulty in finding available land.

Officers referred Members to the map accompanying the report which detailed the various sites, all of which would be connected to a central point for the transfer of the energy produced by them; this would be taken into account as part of the Council’s response.

The Leader commended the report but emphasised to Officers how their concerns about the cumulative impact of the proposals should be made clear, and how the schemes should be very carefully considered by the Secretary of State.

RESOLVED:

                        The Executive

i.              noted the content of the report; and

ii.            authorised the Head of Planning and Interim Head of Regulatory Services (or equivalent), in consultation with the relevant Executive Member, to agree the Local Impact Report, Statement of Common Ground, the content of the draft DCO, and all further necessary representations by the District Council, together with post decision monitoring of planning conditions and enforcement of the DCO.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

Timescales for commenting on the DCO application once it is submitted are embedded in statute and it is important that appropriate delegation arrangements are in place so that the Council is able to meet the deadlines which are set by PINS.