Whitestone Solar Farm - Proposed Application For A Development Consent Order

Whitestone Net Zero Ltd
Section 47 and 48 Planning Act 2008
Regulation 4 Infrastructure Planning (Applications Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009
Notice of publicising a proposed application for a Development Consent Order for Whitestone Solar Farm

Notice is hereby given that WHITESTONE NET ZERO LTD (company number: 15826972) of The Long Barn Manor Courtyard, Stratton-On-The-Fosse, Radstock, England, BA3 4QF (the “Applicant”) proposes to make an application (“the Application”) to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero under Section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (the “Act”) for a Development Consent Order (“DCO”) to authorise the construction, operation and maintenance and decommissioning of the Whitestone Solar Farm, a solar photovoltaic (PV) array generating facility and energy storage facility and associated infrastructure (“the Proposed Development”).
In accordance with Section 47 of the Act, this notice publicises where and when the Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) can be inspected. The SoCC sets out how the Applicant will undertake its consultation.
Additionally, the Applicant has a duty to publicise the proposed Application under Section 48 of the Act in line with Regulation 4 of the 2009 Regulations. In accordance with those provisions, this notice also summarises the main proposals and explains where the consultation documents can be viewed.
The Proposed Development
The Proposed Development would be located across three main land areas east of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, within the administrative areas of the City of Doncaster Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The southern extent of the Proposed Order Limits cross into the administrative area of North East Derbyshire District Council within Derbyshire County Council. Whitestone 1 is proposed to the south of Conisbrough, Whitestone 2 to the east of Brinsworth, and Whitestone 3 to the west and north of Harthill.
As the Proposed Development would have a generating capacity in excess of 50MW, it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The threshold is due to change on 31 December 2025 for solar Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects to 100MW under The Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025, but the Proposed Development exceeds that prospective threshold. Accordingly, the Applicant must apply to the Secretary of State for a DCO under the Act.
The DCO is proposed to, amongst other things, authorise:
construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of ground mounted solar PV arrays, inverters, transformers, substations, a Battery Energy Storage System, along with underground cables to connect to the National Electricity Transmission System at the new National Grid substation at Brinsworth (Brinsworth B).
other infrastructure works including on-site cabling, ancillary buildings such as offices and welfare areas, access tracks, and any other works identified as necessary to enable the Proposed Development. There would also be parts of the Proposed Development used for landscaping which would include features such as biodiversity mitigation and enhancement measures, amenity improvements and fencing.
In addition, any necessary rights and powers will be sought to ensure delivery of the Proposed Development, including compulsory acquisition and temporary possession and such ancillary, incidental and consequential provisions in relation to public rights of way and consents as needed.
The Proposed Development is an ‘EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) development’ for the purposes of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (‘EIA Regulations’). The Applicant has therefore produced a draft Environment Statement (draft ‘ES’) which contains preliminary information about the likely significant environmental effects of the Proposed Development, together with a non-technical summary of this information. An Environmental Statement will be submitted with the proposed application.
The Applicant will carry out pre-application consultation on the Proposed Development from 16 September to 28 October 2025. The purpose of this consultation is to obtain views on the Proposed Development ahead of submission of the DCO application.
Under Section 47 of the Planning Act 2008, the Applicant has produced a SoCC. The SoCC explains how the Applicant will undertake the consultation with the local community and stakeholders about the Proposed Development, where the consultation documents can be viewed, where public events will be held and explains how people can comment on the proposals and provide responses to the consultation. This notice provides formal notification of the publication of the SoCC including where and when it can be inspected in accordance with Section 47(6) of the Act.
The Applicant has developed a variety of materials to provide more information about the Proposed Development, including, a consultation booklet showing the nature and location of the Proposed Development, a consultation questionnaire to gather feedback on the Proposed Development, the draft ES, and the SoCC.
The consultation materials will be available in several formats from 16 September 2025. All consultation materials, including the SoCC, will be available to download online free of charge at

www.whitestonesolarfarm.co.uk/document-library/

or free of charge on a USB on request using the details in this notice. Printed copies of the consultation booklet, SoCC and questionnaire are available free of charge upon request using the details in this notice. Requests for hard copies of the draft ES will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and a fee to cover printing costs (up to a maximum of £750 for one full set of consultation documents) may be charged to the recipient.
Upcoming information events
In addition, the Applicant is hosting a number of public events at the following dates and locations to enable individuals to learn more about the Proposed Development and share their feedback:
Date and time
Location
2 October 10am-2pm
Thurcroft Gordon Bennett Memorial Hall, S66 9DD
3 October 1pm-5pm
Todwick Village Hall, S26 1HJ
4 October 10am-3pm
Conisbrough Ivanhoe Centre, DN12 3JX
7 October 3pm-7pm
Harthill Village Hall, S26 7YL
8 October 3pm-7pm
Ravenfield Parish Hall, S65 4PT
14 October 3pm-7pm
Ulley Village Hall, S26 3YD
15 October 12pm-4pm
Whiston Village Hall, S60 4HX
How to respond to the consultation
Any person may comment on the Proposed Development or otherwise respond to this publicity during the period 16 September to 11:59pm on 28 October 2025 through any of the following methods:
Complete a questionnaire online at the project website: whitestonesolarfarm.co.uk
Complete a paper questionnaire and return it at one of our events or to the Freepost address: Whitestone Solar Farm Freepost SEC NEWGATE UK LOCAL (no stamp is required)
Send written comments by post to the Freepost address above, or by email to

info@whitestonesolarfarm.co.uk

The Applicant will consider and have regard to all responses received during 16 September to 11:59pm on 28 October 2025 when developing the DCO application once the consultation has closed. Responses will form the basis of a consultation report that will be one of the factors taken into consideration by the Secretary of State when deciding whether the DCO application can be accepted for examination. Therefore, in providing any comment, it should be borne in mind that the substance of it may be communicated to others as part of that consultation report.
Responses must be received no later than 11:59pm on 28 October 2025.
When providing your response, please include your name and address or, if you would prefer your comments to be anonymous, your postcode only. Personal information that is supplied to the Applicant in response to this consultation will be held securely and only used for purposes in connection with the statutory consultation, the DCO process and further development of the Proposed Development. Outside of these purposes, the Applicant may be required to provide personal details if under a legal obligation to do so such as if the Planning Inspectorate requests original responses. For further details please see our privacy policy at:

www.whitestonesolarfarm.co.uk/privacy-policy-2/

and the Planning Inspectorate’s Privacy Notice at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-inspectorate-privacy-notices

Communications Lines
If you would like further information about this notice, the consultation or the Proposed Development, please contact the project team by using one of these methods:
Call Freephone: 0800 688 9936 (9:00am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday)
Email:

info@whitestonesolarfarm.co.uk

Write to: Whitestone Solar Farm, FREEPOST SEC Newgate UK Local (no stamp is needed)