Issue - meetings

The Committee heard from the Development Management Team Manager, who also provided a presentation to Members detailing the One Earth Solar Farm development plans. It was explained that the One Earth Solar Farm (OESF) was an energy project comprising ground mounted solar photovoltaic arrays and on-site energy storage, along with associated development. It was stated to have an installed capacity of 740MW and would have its grid connection point at the decommissioned High Marnham power station site (Nottinghamshire). The development was being undertaken by Ørsted and PS Renewables.

Members heard that the 1,409Ha site straddled the County boundary between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Approximately 206Ha would fall within Lincolnshire and the district of West Lindsey. The site currently comprised arable fields to the south / south-east of Newton-on-Trent. The site’s northern-most boundary was approximately 200 metres from the village. Due to its scale (>50MW), the development qualified as a ‘nationally significant infrastructure project’, or NSIP, with the officer highlighting that NSIPs were subject to a separate consenting regime, overseen by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) on the behalf of the Secretary of State.

The application was submitted to PINS in February 2025 and formally accepted on 27th March 2025. It would now be subject to a public examination, overseen by an Examining Authority (ExA), scheduled to run 8 July 2025 to 8 January 2026. Following closure of the examination, the ExA would make its recommendations to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who would make the final decision as to whether to grant a Development Consent Order (DCO).

It was noted that as part of the examination project, West Lindsey District Council, a Host Authority, was invited to submit both a Local Impact Report (LIR) and any further Written Representations (WR). The draft examination timetable set out that this should be submitted by Tuesday 29 July 2025. It was recommended to the Committee that it agreed to the submission of both a LIR and WR to be made to the OESF Public Examination, by the required deadline.

Members heard that, due to the flood risk on the site, it had been suggested that panels were raised in order to accommodate that risk. It was recommended to the Committee that submission documents were amended to incorporate more details regarding the flood risk and the impact of panels being raised.

The Chairman thanked the officer for the detailed presentation and time taken on the draft documents. Members of the Committee expressed their continued concerns regarding the level of proposed solar farm development across the district, recognising that the One Earth proposal fell mostly outside of West Lindsey, however acknowledging the cumulative impact when considered alongside the other proposals.

In response to a query regarding the grid connection, it was confirmed that the developer had been tasked with confirming those details, however this would be further commented on in the submitted documents. Additionally, it was requested that the maintenance and removal of the panels be questioned as there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15