Consultation

Public consultation is a crucial component of the pre-application process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). 

We are committed to early and continuous engagement to ensure that the development of our proposals for Light Valley Solar are informed and shaped by community input. Local communities, residents, and councils play a vital role in this process. The design process for the proposed development will be iterative and will be informed by feedback received during the two stages of community consultation that are planned for the project.

This initial stage of consultation on our emerging proposals for Light Valley Solar ran for six weeks from 24th October to 5th December 2024.

  • This is a non-statutory phase of consultation during which time we shared details of our early-phase proposals for the overall project and invited you to tell us what you think. We will use the views and comments you submitted during the first phase of consultation, together with the findings from ongoing studies and surveys we are carrying out, to help us shape and refine our proposals. 

    We received feedback on: 

    • The overall project 

    • Local projects and community initiatives we could support to create benefits for communities in proximity to our proposed scheme. 

    • Additional considerations for how we deliver the next phase of consultation 

  • We will also be carrying out a second phase of consultation on more detailed proposals for the project.

    This will be a statutory phase of consultation required by the application process for NSIPs. We expect to carry out this second phase of consultation Summer 2025.

    After this we will review our detailed proposals in light of the feedback received during this second consultation, along with the outcomes of ongoing assessments, to then finalise and submit our application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate