The Development Process

Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park has completed the Examination stage of the Development Consent Order process. The Examining Authority now has up to three months to prepare and submit its recommendation report to the Secretary of State, who then has a further period of up to three months to make the final decision. 

The Planning Process

Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) because it would generate more than 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity.   

The 2008 Planning Act defines the consent regime for an NSIP.  It requires that we apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO), which has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) rather than the local planning authority.  

PINS, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), has now carefully examined our proposals and will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State on whether to grant consent for the development. Consent will be determined by the Secretary of State. 

Click here to learn more about the DCO process.

Stages of the NSIP Application Process

1) Pre-Application

2) Acceptance

3) Pre-Examination

4) Examination

5) Recommendation and Decision

6) Post Decision

Pre-application Consultation

Early and ongoing engagement is a cornerstone of our development process

Early and ongoing engagement is a cornerstone of our development process.

Community consultation forms an important part of the pre-application process for NSIPs. Ongoing engagement will influence and refine the design of GNR Solar and Biodiversity Park. Local councils, residents and community groups all have an important part to play. 

We held three phases of consultation, including:

  • The first non-statutory phase of consultation, which ran from 16 January 2024 to 27 February 2024. Here we invited feedback on our early-stage proposals for the Development. 

  • A second statutory phase of consultation, as required by the 2008 Planning Act. This ran from 09 January 2025 until 20 February 2025.

  • A targeted phase of consultation, which ran from 8 May to 6 June 2025. We carried out this targeted phase of consultation for after making some localised additions to the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) Order Limits consulted on for Phase Two statutory consultation, which closed in February 2025.

Timeline

November
2023

  • The EIA Scoping Request is an initial step in which PINS is asked to provide feedback on the scope and level of detail that should be included in the Environmental Statement (ES) when the application is submitted. The ES will assess, evaluate and mitigate the potential effects of the proposed development on the environment.

Early
2024

  • The purpose of this consultation is to introduce Elements Green, present our early proposals for GNR Solar Park, and give you the opportunity to provide feedback. All comments will be reviewed and considered by the project team.

Summer
2024

  • We will consult with relevant local planning authorities to invite their views on the approach we intend to take to engage with and obtain feedback from local communities on our detailed proposes for GNR Solar Park. This will be set out in our Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC) which will be published just ahead of the second stage of consultation (statutory).

Early 2025

  • During this statutory stage of consultation, we invited your views on the more detailed project proposals. Following this consultation, all the feedback received was reviewed along with the findings from our ongoing assessments to shape our final DCO application. Further information about our Phase Two Consultation can be found our Consultation Report, including how we have considered feedback and our responses to this.

June
2025

  • We submitted our DCO application Planning Inspectorate on 27 June 2025. The Planning Inspectorate accepted the application for examination on 22 July 2025.

2025 / 2026

  • This stage followed the Acceptance of Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park DCO application on Tuesday 22 July 2025. 

    The Examination officially commenced at the close of the Preliminary Meeting on Wednesday 26 November 2025. The Preliminary Meeting set out how the Examination will be conducted, including the proposed timetable, the format of the hearings, and key procedural matters. 

    Recordings and transcripts of the Preliminary Meeting, as well as Issue Specific Hearings 1, 2 and 3, Open Floor Hearing 1, and Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 1, are available to view on the Planning Inspectorate’s webpage. Please click here to access these materials. 

    As is standard with DCO projects, the Examination was completed in six months. The Examining Authority has three months to write and submit a recommendation report to the Secretary of State, to inform their decision on whether to grant consent for the project to be built (which will follow up to three months following this receipt of the recommendation report). A final decision on the plans is expected to take place in October 2026. 

    Further details of our application and of the Examination can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website for Great North Road Solar and Biodiversity Park. There you will find all Examination related material within the Examination Library. For further information on next steps, please visit the PINS project website here.

Spring
2027

  • Subject to our application being approved we anticipate construction would begin around 2027.

*Please note this timeline is indicative and may be subject to change