Tillbridge Solar
Group 5

Planning

Planning
Process

Given that the project would generate more than 50MW of renewable energy, Tillbridge Solar is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). This means that we need to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

The Secretary of State will appoint an independent Examining Authority to scrutinise the development consent application in accordance with the relevant legislation (the Planning Act 2008). The Secretary of State will ask the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) to run the examination of the DCO application. Following this period of examination, PINS will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State as to whether to grant development consent.

You can read more information about the DCO planning process on the PINS website here.

We are planning to submit our full application to the Planning Inspectorate towards the end of in 2023. We have been and will continue to work with communities and other stakeholders before this to develop and refine our Scheme in more detail. We are now holding our statutory consultation, where we are consulting on our more developed proposals for you to comment on. To take part in our statutory consultation please visit the ‘Consultation’ page of this website.

In advance of our statutory consultation, we have published a Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) outlining our commitments to how we are engaging throughout the development of Tillbridge Solar, including how we will consider and respond to feedback. The statutory consultation includes sharing the findings of our environmental surveys and assessments conducted up until that point, in our Preliminary Environmental Information (PEI) Report. Copies of the SoCC and PEI Report, along with a Non-Technical Summary (NTS) of the PEI Report, can be found in the ‘Documents Library’.

Opportunities for collaboration

Given the proximity of our Scheme to Island Green Power’s Cottam and West Burton solar projects and Low Carbon’s Gate Burton Energy Park, we have been refining our plans to identify opportunities for collaborative working in regard to connection to National Grid’s Cottam substation.
This collaboration has included building an understanding of the extent of the respective Cable Route Corridors associated with each Scheme and how these might be able to sit alongside each other, ensuring that all routes can be brought forward to minimise land take and environmental impacts, including disruption during the construction phase.
We are continuing to work with Low Carbon and Island Green Power and this work, along with your comments during this statutory consultation and our ongoing studies and surveys, will help shape the final plans for our corridor submitted as part of our DCO application.

PEI Report Volume I Chapter 17: Cumulative Effects addresses the potential for effect interactions and cumulative effects to occur as a result of the Scheme. You can find this chapter in our ‘Documents Library’

We have been and will continue to work constructively with these other developers to ensure:

People are easily able to engage with each of our consultation processes and have opportunities to get involved.
All environmental effects are fully assessed, including any cumulative impacts.
A common-sense approach to construction is taken in order to minimise disruption, including sharing infrastructure and construction timelines, where feasible.

Indicative timeline

Group 19
Summer 2022
Initial engagement with stakeholders, including collaboration workshops
September 2022
EIA Scoping Request submitted to the Planning Inspectorate
Spring 2023
Publication of our Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) and ongoing development of our EIA
May – July 2023
Statutory consultation to be held with community and technical stakeholders, including sharing the findings of our PEI Report
Winter 2023
Anticipated submission of DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate for public examination
2024 - 2025
DCO examination and decision
Autumn 2025
Anticipated start of construction
Consultation

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