British Solar Renewables (BSR) has launched a community consultation regarding plans for the Hooton Pagnell Renewable Park, a proposed solar-plus-storage development near Doncaster.
The proposed development is set to be located on 94 hectares of land near the village of Hooton Pagnell, South Yorkshire, and will deliver a 49.9MW solar PV power plant combined with a 30MW battery energy storage system (BESS).
According to the developer, the project will prevent over 17,410 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year if planning permission is granted. BSR also notes that the project will bring at least a 60% biodiversity net gain once completed, with plans to develop new wildlife habitats and a tree belt in the area surrounding the solar and battery equipment. Sheep grazing is also expected to continue between the solar PV panels in order to support local agriculture.
BSR has now opened a community consultation for the project between 16 June and 14 July, during which local residents are invited to submit their feedback on the proposals. The developer is also hosting two open community events: an in-person drop-in event on Tuesday, 24 June, and an online webinar on Thursday, 26 June.
Following this consultation, BSR will work to finalise the design of the project ahead of submitting a planning application in late August of this year. A decision on if planning permission should be granted is expected in the latter end of 2026; if approved, construction is expected to commence in 2034.
Hayley Burke, project manager at BSR, expressed her enthusiasm for community input on the proposals, stating: “We encourage the community to take part in our consultation and share their local knowledge and views on our proposals, ahead of the project design being finalised and a planning application submitted.”
The news comes shortly after the announcement that BSR had acquired a solar PV Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) from INRG. The Little Crow solar-plus-storage project, located in Lincolnshire, will feature a 150MWp solar installation plus a 60MW BESS, having been awarded planning consent by the Planning Inspectorate in 2022 and also securing a contract for difference (CfD) in the autumn 2024 auction round, allocation round 6 (AR6).
BSR will build and operate the project, but no date for the start or end of construction has been revealed by the developers. The Little Crow project is the largest in BSR’s portfolio, which globally totals over 700MWp.
