The Heckington Fen Solar Park Order 2025

SCHEDULE 2 REQUIREMENTS

Article 2 Interpretation 1 In this Schedule— “county authority” means Lincolnshire County Council; “both relevant planning authorities” means North Kesteven District Council and Boston Borough Council each being the relevant planning authority for part of the authorised development. Commencement of the authorised development 2 The authorised development must commence no later than the expiration of five years beginning with the date this Order comes into force. Phasing the authorised development and date of final commissioning 3 (1) No part of the authorised development may commence until a written scheme setting out the phase or phases of construction of the authorised development has been submitted to both relevant planning authorities and the county authority. (2) The scheme submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) must include— (a) a timetable for the construction of the phase or phases of the authorised development; (b) a plan identifying the phasing area(s); and (c) a statement that the phasing is in line with the assumptions in the environmental statement and is unlikely to give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects compared to those assessed in the environmental statement. (3) The phasing scheme must be implemented as notified under paragraph (1). (4) The written scheme referred to in paragraph (1) must include notification of whether the undertaker will proceed with Work No. 5A or Work No. 5B. (5) In respect of the phase or phases, the undertaker must give notice to both relevant planning authorities within 21 days of the date of final commissioning that final commissioning of the phase or, where there is more than one phase, each phase has taken place. Requirement for written approval 4 Where under any of the requirements the approval, agreement or confirmation of both relevant planning authorities or the county authority or relevant planning authority (as applicable) or another person is required, that approval, agreement or confirmation must be provided in writing. Approved details and amendments to them 5 (1) With respect to the documents certified under article 37 (certification of plans and documents, etc.) and any plans, details or schemes which have been approved pursuant to any requirement (together the “Approved Documents, Plans, Details or Schemes”), the undertaker may submit to the county authority or relevant planning authority or both relevant planning authorities (as applicable) for approval any amendments to any of the Approved Documents, Plans, Details or Schemes and, following approval by the county authority or relevant planning authority or both relevant planning authorities (as applicable), the relevant Approved Documents, Plans, Details or Schemes is to be taken to include the amendments as so approved pursuant to this paragraph. (2) Approval under sub-paragraph (1) for the amendments to any of the Approved Documents, Plans, Details or Schemes must not be given except where it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the county authority, the relevant planning authority or both relevant planning authorities (as applicable) that the subject matter of the approval sought is unlikely to give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects from those assessed in the environmental statement. Detailed design approval 6 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until details of— (a) the layout; (b) scale; (c) proposed finished ground levels; (d) external appearance; (e) hard surfacing materials; (f) vehicular and pedestrian access, parking and circulation areas, junction improvements and passing places; (g) refuse or other storage units, signs and lighting; (h) drainage, water, power and communications cables and pipelines; and (i) programme for landscaping works, relating to that phase have been submitted and approved in writing by the relevant planning authority for that phase or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities in consultation with the county authority. (2) The details submitted must accord with the outline design principles and the flood risk assessment and, where relevant, demonstrate how they have taken account of relevant results of any archaeological investigations or archaeological evaluations carried out pursuant to requirement 12. (3) The authorised development must be carried out in accordance with the approved details. (4) Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to the matters listed under sub-paragraph (1)(f) if consent has already been given to the details of those works pursuant to articles 9, 10, or 12. Fire safety management 7 (1) Work No. 2 must not commence until an energy storage safety management plan (ESSMP), substantially in accordance with the outline energy storage safety management plan, has been submitted to and approved by the county authority in consultation with North Kesteven District Council, Boston Borough Council, and the Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service. (2) The ESSMP must prescribe measures to facilitate safety during the construction, operation and decommissioning of Work No. 2 including the transportation of new, used and replacement energy storage cells both to and from the authorised development. (3) The ESSMP must be implemented as approved. Landscape ecological management plan 8 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until a written landscape ecological management plan (which is substantially in accordance with the outline landscape ecological management plan) has been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority for that phase or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. (2) The landscape ecological management plan must include details relevant for the phase of works in relation to— (a) the location, number, species, size and planting density of any proposed planting including details of any proposed tree and hedgerow planting and the proposed times of such planting; (b) an implementation timetable, including whether any further survey work is to be carried out; (c) how a minimum of 65% biodiversity net gain in habitat units, calculated using The Statutory Biodiversity Metric published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 29 November 2023 (or such other biodiversity metric approved by the relevant planning authority in consultation with the relevant statutory nature conservation body), will be secured during the operation of the whole of the authorised development; and (d) how the landscaping and ecology measures will be managed, maintained, and monitored during the operational life of the authorised development to the date on which the decommissioning and restoration plan is implemented pursuant to requirement 18 (decommissioning and restoration). (3) Any hedgerow, shrub or tree planted as part of the approved plan that, within a period of seven years after planting, is removed, dies or becomes, in the opinion of the relevant planning authority, seriously damaged or diseased, must be replaced in the first available planting seasons with a specimen of the same species and size as that originally planted (unless a different species is otherwise approved by the relevant planning authority). (4) The landscape ecological management plan must be implemented as approved. Implementation and maintenance of landscaping 9 All landscaping works must be carried out in accordance with the landscape ecological management plan approved under requirement 8 (landscape ecological management plan) as relevant to that phase. Fencing and other means of enclosure 10 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until written details of all proposed temporary fences, walls or other means of enclosure, including those set out in the construction environmental management plan, for that phase have been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. (2) No phase of the authorised development may commence until written details of all permanent fences, walls or other means of enclosure for that phase (which must be substantially in accordance with the details within the outline design principles) have been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. (3) Any construction site must remain securely fenced in accordance with the approved details under paragraph (1) at all times during construction of the authorised development. (4) Any temporary fencing must be removed on completion of the phase of construction of the authorised development for which it was used. (5) In the event that temporary fences, walls or other means of enclosure are required for the permitted preliminary works, no permitted preliminary works may take place until written details of all proposed temporary fences, walls or other means of enclosure required for such works have been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority or, where the permitted preliminary works fall within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. Surface and foul water drainage 11 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until details of the surface water drainage strategy and (if any) foul water drainage system (including means of pollution control) (which must be substantially in accordance with the outline drainage strategy in the flood risk assessment) for that phase have been submitted to and approved by the county authority, such approval to be in consultation with the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board and Anglian Water (in respect of its sewerage undertaker functions). (2) Any scheme approved pursuant to sub-paragraph (1) must be implemented as approved and maintained throughout the construction and operation of the authorised development. Archaeology 12 (1) Any part of Work No. 5, Work No. 5A, and Work No. 5B that has not already been subject to archaeological evaluation must not commence until a written scheme of archaeological investigation (which must accord with the outline written scheme of investigation – evaluation) has been submitted to and approved by the county authority, in consultation with the relevant planning authority. (2) No phase of the authorised development may commence until a written scheme of archaeological investigation (which must accord with the outline written scheme of investigation – mitigation) for that phase has been submitted to and approved by the county authority, in consultation with the relevant planning authority. (3) In the event that archaeological site investigation is required, the scheme(s) must include details of the following— (a) an overview of the previous archaeological site investigations and their results; (b) the programme and methodology of the forthcoming site investigation, analysis, and recording (including reference to regional research frameworks as applicable); (c) the programme and methodology of the post site investigation assessment (with additional method statements needing to be prepared and approved once the archaeological resource is better known from the site investigation); (d) provision for archive deposition, publication, and dissemination of the analysis and records of the site investigation; and (e) nomination of a competent person, persons or organisation to undertake the works set out within the written scheme of investigation. (4) Any archaeological works (including any watching brief) must be carried out in accordance with the approved scheme. (5) No pre-commencement intrusive archaeological surveys, site preparation works and archaeological investigations may take place until a specific scheme(s) of investigations which is in accordance with the relevant details set out in the outline written scheme of investigations has been submitted to and approved by the county authority, in consultation with the relevant planning authority. Construction environmental management plan 13 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until a construction environmental management plan (which must be substantially in accordance with the outline construction environmental management plan) for that phase has been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority for that phase or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities, such approval to be in consultation with the county authority and the Environment Agency. (2) All construction works associated with the authorised development must be carried out in accordance with the approved construction environmental management plan. Construction traffic management plan 14 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until a construction traffic management plan (which must be substantially in accordance with the outline construction traffic management plan) for that phase has been submitted to and approved by the county authority, such approval to be in consultation with the relevant planning authority for that phase or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. (2) The construction traffic management plan must be implemented as approved. Operational noise 15 (1) Work No. 1A, Work No. 2, and Work No. 4 must not begin operating until an operational noise assessment containing details of how the design of Work No. 1A, Work No. 2 and Work No. 4 ensures the operational noise rating levels set out in Table 12.8 of Chapter 12 of the environmental statement are to be complied with has been submitted to and approved by both relevant planning authorities. (2) The measures as described in the operational noise assessment must be implemented and maintained as approved throughout the operation of the authorised development. Supply chain, employment and skills 16 (1) No part of Works No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5A and 5B may commence until a supply chain, employment, and skills plan (which must be substantially in accordance with the outline supply chain, employment, and skills plan) has been submitted to and approved by both relevant planning authorities, such approval to be in consultation with the county authority. (2) The supply chain, employment, and skills plan must identify opportunities for individuals and businesses to access employment and supply chain opportunities associated with the construction, operation and maintenance of the authorised development (excluding Work No. 6B and 6C), and the means for publicising such opportunities. (3) The supply chain, employment, and skills plan must be implemented as approved. Permissive path 17 (1) Prior to the construction of the permissive path, the undertaker must submit details of the permissive path to the county authority for approval, such approval to be in consultation with North Kesteven District Council, such details to cover— (a) final routing of the permissive path to be provided, such routing to be substantially in accordance with the routing as shown on the plans contained within the outline landscape ecological management plan; (b) the specification of the permissive path; and (c) the maintenance regime for the permissive path. (2) The permissive path must be provided and open to the public prior to the date of final commissioning in respect of the phase which includes the permissive path. (3) The permissive path must be provided and maintained in accordance with the permissive path details and retained until the part of the authorised development in which the permissive path is located is decommissioned pursuant to requirement 18 (decommissioning and restoration). Decommissioning and restoration 18 (1) No later than 12 months prior to the date the undertaker intends to decommission any part of the authorised development, the undertaker must notify the relevant planning authority and county authority of the intended date of decommissioning. (2) Within 12 months of the date notified pursuant to paragraph (1) but no later than 6 months prior to the 40 year period referred to in paragraph (3), the undertaker must submit to the relevant planning authority for that part (or both relevant planning authorities where that part falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston) for approval a decommissioning and restoration plan for that part, such approval to be in consultation with the county authority and the Environment Agency. (3) Save for Work No. 6B, 6C and Work No. 9C, decommissioning must commence no later than 40 years following the date of final commissioning that is the subject of the last notice given by the undertaker pursuant to requirement 3(5) (phasing of the authorised development and date of final commissioning). (4) The plan submitted and approved pursuant to paragraph (2) must be substantially in accordance with the relevant part of the outline decommissioning and restoration plan. (5) No decommissioning works must be carried out until the relevant planning authority or both relevant planning authorities (as applicable) has or have approved the plan submitted under paragraph (2) in relation to such works. (6) The plan submitted and approved pursuant to paragraph (2) must be implemented as approved. (7) This requirement is without prejudice to any other consents or permissions which may be required to decommission any part of the authorised development. Operational Environmental Management Plan 19 (1) Prior to the date of final commissioning for any phase of the authorised development, an operational environmental management plan (which must be substantially in accordance with the outline operational environmental management plan) for that phase must be submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority for that phase or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. (2) The relevant plan submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) must include details of how sheep grazing will be managed and maintained within the fenced areas of the solar park at Work No. 1 throughout the operation of the authorised development. (3) The operation of any phase of the authorised development must be carried out and maintained in accordance with the approved operational environmental management plan for that phase. Soil Management Plan 20 (1) No phase of the authorised development may commence until a soil management plan (which must be substantially in accordance with the relevant part of the outline soil management plan) for that phase has been submitted to and approved by the relevant planning authority for that phase or, where the phase falls within the administrative areas of both the District of North Kesteven and the Borough of Boston, both relevant planning authorities. (2) The construction of any phase of the authorised development must be carried out in accordance with the approved soil management plan for that phase. Community Orchard 21 (1) Prior to the construction of the community orchard, the undertaker must submit the community orchard details to North Kesteven District Council for approval, such details to cover— (a) location and layout, the number, species, size and planting density of any proposed planting including details of any proposed tree planting and the proposed times of such planting of the community orchard, to be substantially in accordance with the plans contained within the outline landscape ecological management plan; and (b) the maintenance regime for the community orchard. (2) The community orchard must be provided within six months of the date of final commissioning of the last phase of Work No. 1. (3) The community orchard must be provided and maintained in accordance with the approved maintenance regime.