Solar farm consultation was flawed, says MP

An MP has said the consultation process for a controversial solar farm was "fundamentally flawed" and should be re-run.

Whitestone Net Zero made an application covering three areas in Doncaster and Rotherham, originally covering 3,500 acres (5.5 sq miles), although the firm said it had made "significant changes" after two rounds of consultation.

Rawmarsh and Conisbrough MP John Healey said he had called on the Chief Planning Inspector to intervene, saying the consultations were "lumped together" rather than treated as three separate schemes.

A Whitestone spokesperson said the plan aimed to "maximise renewable energy production" while being "sensitive to local communities and the environment".

They said they had reduced the solar areas by 37%, adjusted traffic access plans and added further landscaping in response to the consultations.

"Our engagement strategy ... went above and beyond to provide opportunities for meaningful consultation with local authorities, communities and other stakeholders," the spokesperson added.

They said there would be a further opportunity for the community to engage with and give feedback on the plan.

Hundreds of residents, MPs and Doncaster and Rotherham councils are all against the plans.

Healey accused Whitestone of breaching planning law which states residents should be able understand the proposals and respond meaningfully.

"Each of the three Whitestone solar schemes warrants a separate consultation," the former defence secretary wrote in a letter to the planning inspectorate.

"Each is in a different area and community, the sites are geographically separate and miles apart.

"Whitestone 1 lies at Conisbrough Parks, Whitestone 2 is centred around Ulley and Whitestone 3 is a further 10 to 12 kilometres away near Wales, Kiveton Park and Woodall.

"These areas are divided by two motorways, multiple villages and have distinct landscape, heritage and transport settings. Residents do not experience the same local impacts across these three areas, and no reasonable observer would describe them as one contiguous or coherent site."

Healey said the developer had "lumped the schemes together in a single consultation".

"No doubt this is for convenience and to cut costs but aggregating the three schemes deprives communities of a proper consultation," he added.

He said residents were not given clear information about which part of the scheme affected their own locality, with events and materials presented in generic terms.

The MP added that printed copies of documents were available for a fee of £750 and important documents including flood risk assessments and construction traffic information were incomplete or unavailable.

The planning inspectorate has until 8 July to decide one of three options – it can accept the application for examination, not accept it, or the applicant withdraws it.

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