North Lincolnshire - Multiple Planning Applications

Tween Bridge Solar Farm
The Planning Act 2008 - Sections 42, 47 and 48

The Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 - Regulation 4

Notice of Publication of a Statement of Community Consultation and Notice Publicising a Proposed Application for a Development Consent Order
Tween Bridge Solar Farm

Notice is hereby given that RWE Renewables UK Solar and Storage Limited of Windmill Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 6PB (the ‘Applicant’) intends to submit an application (the ‘Proposed Application’) to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (the ‘SoS’) for a Development Consent Order (‘DCO’) under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (the ‘2008 Act’). The Proposed Application is for the Tween Bridge Solar Farm (the “Scheme”) and is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under sections 14 and 15 of the 2008 Act.

In accordance with section 47 of the 2008 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 2008 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.

Summary of the Project

The land required for the Project (the ‘Project Site)’ is located approximately 10km to the northeast of Doncaster and 14km to the west of Scunthorpe within the administrative boundaries of City of Doncaster Council and North Lincolnshire Council. The site area is approximately 2527 hectares.

The Project comprises the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of a ground mounted solar park with an intended design capacity of over 50MWp (megawatts peak), and a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with an export/import connection to the National Grid.

The electricity generated would equate to around 800 MW of alternating current (AC) capacity and will feed into the grid through a new National Grid substation. The Project Site will be connected to the substation via underground cable. Flexibility in panel design would be required to accommodate expected future technology developments as technology continues to evolve and become more efficient.

The Applicant has accepted a grid connection offer from National Grid. The connection date to the new National Grid substation is currently scheduled to be in 2029. This is subject to construction of the new substation and completion of the necessary grid reinforcement works by National Grid.

The National Grid Substation does not form part of the Project and therefore National Grid will be developing its own proposals and consenting for the substation separately. The location of the new substation is still to be confirmed and is dependent on technical, design, and environmental factors being considered.

The Proposed Application for the Project comprises:

• Solar PV modules and associated mounting structures

• On-site supporting equipment including inverters, transformers and switchgear

• A battery energy storage system (BESS), indicatively split into four separate compounds. They would each be located next to one of the seven on-site 33kv/132kV substations

• The Solar PV Modules and BESS would be connected to one of the seven on-site 33kV/132kV substation compounds. These are necessary to step up the voltage of the electricity delivered by the Solar PV from 33kV to 132kV for onward transmission to the main on-site 400kV RWE substation

• Underground cabling (132kV) running from the main on-site 400kV RWE substation would be required to be laid in order to connect the Scheme to a proposed National Grid Substation

• It is also currently envisaged that the Scheme will include works at the site of the proposed National Grid Substation to facilitate the connection of the 400kV underground cabling to the National Grid Substation

• Works to establish environmental and ecological mitigation and enhancement measures;

• Upgrade to Main Access Tracks

• Directional drilling for cable works for various crossing including: rhynes; canal; railway; and, the M180

• Culverts & upgrades to existing culverts

• Fencing and Security Measures

• Electrical Car (‘EV’) charging point

• Permissive pathways and bird viewing gallery; and

• Temporary development during the construction phase of the Scheme including construction compounds, parking and temporary access roadways to facilitate access to all parts of the Project Site.

The proposed DCO will authorise (among other things), if required:

• The compulsory acquisition of land and/or rights in, on, under or over land required for the Project, as well as rights authorising the temporary occupation of land for the Project.

• The extinguishment and/or overriding of easements and other rights over or affecting land required for the Project;

• The application and/or disapplication of legislation relevant to the Project;

• The temporary stopping up or diversion of public footpaths during construction works;

• Permanent and temporary alterations to the highway network for and in the vicinity of the Project Site; and

• Such ancillary, incidental and consequential works, provisions, permits, consents, waivers or releases as are necessary and convenient for the successful construction, operation and maintenance of the Project.

The Project is an Environmental Impact Assessment development (‘EIA development’) as defined by the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (the ‘EIA Regulations’) and an Environmental Statement (‘ES’) will form part of the Proposed Application. The Applicant has notified the SoS in writing under Regulation 8(1)(b) of the EIA Regulations that it intends to provide an ES in respect of the Project.

The ES will provide a detailed description of the Project and its likely significant environmental effects. Information compiled so far about the Project’s likely environmental impacts is contained in a Preliminary Environmental Information Report (‘PEIR’) and summarised in a Non-Technical Summary, both of which form part of the consultation material.

Consultation on the proposals will take place from 20 March 2025 to 8 May 2025 (the ‘Consultation Period’). Responses must be received no later than 11:59pm on 8 May 2025 and responses received after that date may not be considered.

The consultation documents show the nature and location of the Project and will include plans, maps, and the PEIR and its Non-Technical Summary, among other documents (‘the Consultation Documents’). The Consultation Documents are available to view or download free of charge from (www.tweenbridgesolar.co.uk) (the ‘Project Website’) throughout the duration of the Consultation Period, from 20 March 2025 to 11:59pm on 8 May 2025.

The Consultation Documents can be accessed under the ‘documents’ tab and will be made available until 11:59pm on 8 May 2025.

How to view the Consultation Documents and the SoCC

Hard reference copies of the Consultation Documents, including the SoCC, will be available to view free of charge at the locations listed below during the Consultation Period.

The opening times of these venues are dependent on and are governed by the venues and may be subject to change. If in doubt, please phone ahead before visiting a venue.

The Applicant is hosting five public consultation events, comprising four face-to-face events and one online webinar to be held as follows. The Consultation Documents will also be available to view at the four face-to-face events:

All Consultation Documents, including the SoCC, will be available online to view on the Project website (www.tweenbridgesolar.co.uk).

A hard copy of the consultation material can also be supplied, but there will be a reasonable charge of £0.35 per page to cover the printing and posting costs associated with the PEIR. Upon request, all documents can be made available in alternative formats, such as large print, braille, audio and alternative languages. To request copies of the Consultation Documents, please contact the Applicant using the e-mail address, postal address or telephone number provided at the end of this notice.

When providing your response, please include your name and address or, if you would prefer your comments to be anonymous, your postcode only. Please also confirm the nature of your interest in the Project. Comments and representations may be submitted in the following ways:

Feedback Questionnaire: Complete or download the Feedback Questionnaire at the Project website www.tweenbridgesolar.co.uk; or it can be completed and left at one of the Consultation Events; or by request from the project team either at events or via phone or email.

By email or post: Completed Feedback Questionnaires, and any other comments, can be emailed to info@tweenbridgesolar.co.uk or returned by post (no stamp required) to FREEPOST TWEEN BRIDGE SOLAR

Responses must be received by the Applicant by no later than 11:59pm on 8 May 2025. The Applicant will consider and have regard to all responses when developing the proposals for the Project once the consultation has closed. Responses will be reported in a Consultation Report which will form part of the Proposed Application. This will be taken into consideration by the Planning Inspectorate when deciding whether the Application can be accepted for examination. Therefore, in providing any comment, it should be noted that the substance of it may be communicated to others as part of the Consultation Report.

Personal data supplied to the Applicant in response to this consultation will be treated confidentially and processed and handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR.

The information may be disclosed to or shared with the Applicant’s connected companies, agents, contractors and advisors who provide services to the Applicant in connection with the preparation of an application for development consent under the 2008 Act.

This will allow the Applicant to fully consider the responses and use them in the preparation of application materials. Upon submission of the Proposed Application, the SoS may require the Applicant to supply copies of all consultation responses received. If a request is made, the Applicant is under a legal obligation to supply such copies. By submitting a consultation response to the Applicant, you understand that we may supply a copy of your response to the SoS via the Planning Inspectorate if required.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this notice, the consultation, or the Project, please contact the Applicant by using one of the contact methods provided below:

Email: info@tweenbridgesolar.co.uk

Telephone: 0800 021 7877

Postal address: FREEPOST TWEEN BRIDGE SOLAR (no stamp needed) March 2025