The Planning Process
Steeple Renewables Project could deliver up to 600MW of solar power generation and associated battery storage capacity. Given this scale, the project qualifies as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and as such will procced through the Development Consent Order (DCO) planning process.
This means that, following public consultation and assessment, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero will make the final decision on project approval. The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) will appoint the Examining Authority that will examine the application on behalf of, and make a recommendation to, the Secretary of State.
For a DCO application to be accepted by PINS we must satisfy them that we have undertaken robust consultation for the project with statutory consultees (such as Bassetlaw District Council) and with local communities.
Consultation is an important part of the DCO process as it enables everyone to comment on the proposals. We held:
- Informal consultation between Monday 23 October and Monday 4 December 2023
- Statutory consultation between Monday 25 January and Monday 3 March 2025
The feedback received, along with further technical work and environmental studies, has informed the development of our proposals ahead of the submission of our DCO application to the Planning Inspectorate.
To find out more about the DCO process please visit the PINS website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/
