Meridian Solar Farm

Notice is hereby given that Meridian Solar Farm Limited of 10 Lower Thames Street, London, England, EC3R 6AF (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 land required for the Proposed Application is located within the administrative boundaries of Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland District Council.

Summary of proposed works

The Proposed Application comprises the construction, operation (including maintenance) and decommissioning of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and approximately 12 to 13 km of overhead line connection into National Grid’s planned Weston Marsh substation (due to be located east of Spalding, with the exact location to be confirmed by National Grid) (the ‘Scheme’). The Scheme will also include associated infrastructure, including co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS) and inter-array connections to link together the land parcels where solar panels are located. The Scheme would have capacity to generate approximately 750 megawatts (MW) of electricity for export to the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS).

The solar PV panels and associated BESS would be located within four land parcels (A, B, C and D), referred to collectively as the PV area. The inter-array areas are the indicative areas within which connection cables (the ‘inter-array connection’) would link the land parcels of the PV area. The configuration of the inter-array connection would be either overhead lines (up to 132kV), underground cabling (up to 132kV) or a combination of both. The grid connection corridor is the area between the PV area and the proposed National Grid Weston Marsh substation in which a 400kV overhead line (the ‘grid connection’) could be located.

The Scheme would be located within south-east Lincolnshire, north of Crowland and east of Spalding. The PV area and inter-array areas would be located within the boundaries of the five civil parishes of Crowland, Whaplode, Holbeach, Fleet and Cowbit parish. The grid connection corridor would be located within the boundaries of the two civil parishes of Weston and The Moultons.

The DCO will also seek the compulsory acquisition of land and/or rights in, on, under or over land required for the Scheme, as well as rights authorising the temporary occupation of land for the Scheme.

Other powers that the DCO may seek include the extinguishment and/or overriding of easements and other rights over or affecting land required for the Scheme; the application and/or disapplication of legislation relevant to the Scheme; 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 Scheme, 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 Scheme.

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

Consultation

The Applicant is undertaking a statutory consultation on the proposals for Meridian Solar Farm between Thursday 24 April and Sunday 8 June 2025 (the ‘Consultation Period’). Responses must be received no later than 11:59pm on 8 June 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, the PEIR and its NTS, among other documents (‘the Consultation Documents’).

How to view the Consultation Documents

The Consultation Documents are available to view or download free of charge from www.meridiansolarfarm.co.uk (the ‘Scheme website’) throughout the duration of the Consultation Period, from 24 April 2025 to 11:59pm on 8 June 2025.

Hard copies of the Consultation Documents, including the Statement of Community Consultation, the full PEIR and NTS of the PEIR, will be deposited at the locations listed below at the start of the Consultation Period.

Venue opening times are correct at the time of publication. The Applicant recommends contacting the venue to check the opening times before visiting, especially over bank holidays.

The Applicant is hosting three in person public consultation events, where the Consultation Documents will be available to view:

Details are correct at the time of publication and are unlikely to change. Any updates will be reflected on the Scheme website, which the Applicant recommends to check for the most current details before attending.

The Applicant will also upload two online information presentations to the Scheme website during the consultation period. The first presentation will provide an overview of our proposals and where to find out more information. The second presentation will be uploaded after the in person events and will provide a summary of the main questions we were asked and a response to them.

All Consultation Documents, including the SoCC, will be in hard copy at no extra charge (except the PEIR and NTS, hard copies of which can be requested for a charge of £0.35 per page to cover printing and posting costs). Upon request, all documents can be made available in alternative formats, such as large print, braille, audio and alternative languages.

Responding to this consultation

Comments and representations in response to this consultation may be submitted in the following ways:

Feedback Form: Complete or download the Feedback Form at the Scheme website www.meridiansolarfarm.co.uk; or it can be completed and left at the consultation event; or by request from the project team either at an event or via phone or email.

By email or post: Completed Feedback Forms, and any other comments, can be emailed to enquiries@meridiansolar.co.uk or returned by post (no stamp required) to FREEPOST DOWNING MERIDIAN.

Responses must be received by the Applicant by no later than 11:59pm on Sunday 8 June 2025. The Applicant will have regard to all responses when developing the proposals for the Scheme 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 Scheme, please contact the Applicant by using one of the contact methods provided below:

Email: enquiries@meridiansolar.co.uk

Telephone: 0800 652 6120

Postal address: FREEPOST DOWNING MERIDIAN (no stamp needed)

April 2025