Consultation
Overview of consultation stages
Public consultation is a crucial component of the pre-application process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).
We have been committed to early and continuous engagement to ensure that the development of our proposals for Lime Down Solar Park were informed and shaped by community input. Local communities, residents, and councils play a vital role in this process.
We would like to thank everyone who has taken part throughout the consultation process, from our first stage of non-statutory consultation in early 2024, to our statutory consultation in early 2025 and targeted consultation in Summer 2025.
The design process for the project has been iterative and informed by feedback received during the three stages of community consultation undertaken.
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.
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.
You can find out more about this second stage of consultation here.
Read our Consultation Report
Feedback from our Stage Two statutory consultation and targeted consultation continued to be considered alongside ongoing design and environmental work. This helped us finalise our proposals before submitting our application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate on Friday 19 September 2025. The Planning Inspectorate accepted our project for examination on Friday 17 October 2025.
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 submitted to the Planning Inspectorate includes a Consultation Report summarising the issues raised in feedback to consultation along with an explanation of how we have taken views into account to develop our final proposals.
You can view all our application documents, including the Consultation Report [EN010168/APP/5.1] via PINS’ Lime Down Solar Park webpage or by clicking here.
Targeted Consultation – June 2025
We held a stage of targeted consultation on a series of localised changes we are proposing for our plans for Lime Down Solar Park. This stage of targeted consultation which ran from Tuesday 03 June to Friday 11 July 2025.
This consultation was considered targeted because it focused on the fifteen specific changes which resulted in small increases to the development boundary area compared to the boundary presented in the Preliminary Environmental Report (PEIR) for Stage Two Consultation. It was not another phase of statutory consultation pursuant to Section 47 and Section 48 of the Planning Act 2008.
You can find out more about this stage of targeted consultation here.
How you can stay involved
Between Thursday 30 October 2025 and Friday 09 January 2026, you can register as an Interested Party in the application. Interested Parties may participate in the Examination of the application and will receive formal notifications as the Examination progresses.
You have until 23:59 on Friday 09 January 2026 to register with PINS to become an Interested Party and submit a Relevant Representation. You can do this by visiting the PINS project website at: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010168
Anyone can register to become an Interested Party and make a Relevant Representation summarising your views on our application, made in writing. PINS guidance on how to register and have your say is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects-how-to-register-to-have-your-say-and-make-a-relevant-representation
Interested Parties will have the opportunity to make more detailed representations, known as Written Representations, at a later stage in the examination process, together with the opportunity to participate in examination hearings.
For guidance on the pre-examination and examination phases, you can visit PINS website at: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/decision-making-process-guide/examination-of-the-application
The pre-examination stage usually takes around three months, after which the Examination will commence. The Examination can take up to six months, following which the Examining Authority will have three months to write and submit a recommendation report to the Secretary of State, to inform their decision on whether to grant consent for the Project to be built (which will follow up to three months following this receipt of the recommendation report). A final decision on the project is expected to take place in late 2026 or early 2027.
You can register directly with PINS to receive updates about Lime Down Solar Park at: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010168/get-updates/start