HUGE NEW SOLAR 'GREEN' ENERGY PARK NEAR BROUGHTON APPROVED BY THE GOVERNMENT

Many Brigg Blog followers will be very interested to learn that a major new local solar park, to generate electricity, has now been approved by the Government.
It has the design capacity to power approximately 45,000-60,000 homes a year - "more than half the households in the North Lincolnshire area."
Known at Little Crow Solar Park, this 'green' renewable power project is earmarked for land 2.5km northwest of Broughton and 0.6km to the east of the British Steel site in Scunthorpe, DN16 1XP.
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy granted development consent for this application on April 5, 2022. This is now followed by a statutory period to permit the submission of any possible challenges to the Minister's decision.
Due to its potential generating capacity of more than 50MW, this development constitutes a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.
Therefore, instead of applying to North Lincolnshire Council for planning permission, the applicant had to ask the Government for a Development Consent Order.
The company's formal submission was "accepted for examination" by the Planning Inspectorate back in December 2020.
Since then it has progressed through many stages.
Brigg Blog has been keeping an eye on the application and reported in Spring 2021 that the Inspectorate had sent a representative to look at the proposed site and the surrounding area.
The purpose was to enable the 'examining authority' to familiarise itself about the site’s relationship with:

• The town of Broughton and Scunthorpe steelworks.
• The strategic and local highway network in the area.
• Local public footpath/rights of way.

This visit looked at paths within the 226-hectare application site and the B1207 (Appleby Lane and Ermine Street) plus the B1208.
The representative drove along Ermine Street, Appleby Lane, Broughton High Street and the B1208 between its junctions with the B1207 and the A18.
A walk was made through the woodland bounding Appleby Lane into the application site, following the route of Footpath 214.
We said in April 2021: "It is anticipated that the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation in due course to the Government which will make a decision on the solar park, designed to generate sufficient electricity to power thousands of homes."
The inspection process also considered how wildlife, agriculture and the environment might be affected.

Find out more about the Little Crow Solar Park project through this link...

Following the Secretary of State's decision to grant development consent, there is now a "period for legal challenge."
Read more about this mandatory period here and view information about the various stages of the application...


PICTURED: A Google Maps view used as part of the planning process to indicate the location of the Little Crow Solar Park.