Consultation
Overview of consultation stages
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 Lime Down Solar Park is 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.
Stage One non-statutory consultation – March 2024
We held an initial stage of community consultation that ran for just over six weeks from Thursday 14 March to Friday 26 April 2024.
The aim of this consultation was to introduce Island Green Power and the overall project, and share our early-stage proposals for Lime Down Solar Park to give people the opportunity to share their views and local knowledge.
Feedback to this consultation helped us understand those aspects of the proposed development which people want us to prioritise as we continue to evolve the design for the Project.
You can find out more about this first stage of consultation here.
Further opportunities to contribute
The current second stage of consultation will likely be the last time we consult on our proposals for Lime Down Solar Park before submission.
However, subject to the Planning Inspectorate accepting our Development Consent Order application for examination, you will be able to register your interest in our proposals with them. The Planning Inspectorate will then keep you informed about the progress of our application as well as further opportunities to inform and contribute to that process.
Stage Two statutory consultation – January 2025
We held a second stage of consultation that ran for seven weeks, from Wednesday 29 January to Wednesday 19 March 2025.
This statutory stage of consultation enabled us to present our updated proposals for the solar and energy storage project and provide local communities and interested parties with the opportunity to share their views on how our plans have evolved since the initial consultation we held last year.
Now that the consultation has closed we are reviewing all the responses alongside findings from ongoing assessments to help finalise our proposals before submitting an application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). We expect to submit the application later this year.
As the applicant, we have a duty to demonstrate how we have taken your views into account in developing our final proposals for Lime Down Solar Park. The application we submit to PINS will include a Consultation Report summarising all the issues raised in feedback to consultation along with an explanation of how we have taken views into account to develop our final proposals.
This Report, along with all the other application documents will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website should our application be accepted for examination.