The East Yorkshire Solar Farm Order 2025

SCHEDULE 1 AUTHORISED DEVELOPMENT

Article 3 Interpretation 1 In this Schedule— “electrical cables” means— cables of differing types and voltages installed for the purposes of conducting electricity, auxiliary cables, cables connecting to direct current (DC) boxes, earthing cables and optical fibre cables; and works associated with cable laying including jointing bays, hardstanding adjoining the jointing pits, combiner boxes, fibre bays, cable ducts, cable protection, joint protection, manholes, kiosks, marker posts, underground cable marker, tiles and tape, send and receive pits for horizontal directional drilling, trenching, lighting, and a pit or container to capture fluids associated with drilling; “field stations” means inverters, transformers and switchgear comprising either— a “Field Station Unit” where transformers, inverters and switchgear will be housed in a single container located on a concrete beam or block foundation; or screw piles, rammed piles or compacted hardcore foundation. There will be a perimeter of stone or gravel around the container; or a “Field Substation” where transformers and switchgear will be housed in a single container and inverters provided in either a separate single container or inverters provided separately and mounted on a ground mounted frame which is parallel to the mounting structure. Each container will be located on a concrete beam or block foundation; or screw piles, rammed piles or compacted hardcore foundation. There will be a perimeter of stone or gravel around each container; or an “Inverter Arrangement” where transformers, switchgear and inverters will be provided separately, which may be in one or more containers. Inverters may also be provided separately and mounted on a ground mounted frame which is parallel to the mounting structure. Any container will be located on a concrete beam or block foundation; or screw piles, rammed piles or compacted hardcore foundation. There will be a perimeter of stone or gravel around any container; and inverters provided separately and mounted on a ground mounted frame which is parallel to the mounting structure; “inverter” means electrical equipment required to convert direct current to alternating current; “mounting structure” means a frame or rack made of galvanised steel or other material designed to support the solar panels and mounted on piles driven into the ground, piles rammed into bare ground, a pillar attaching to a steel ground screw, pillars fixed to a concrete foundation, or pillars set in concrete in a pre-made hole in the ground; “National Grid Drax Substation” means the existing 400kV substation at Drax Power Station, owned and operated by National Grid; “permissive paths” means new access tracks providing restricted public access within the Order limits along the route shown on the framework landscape and ecological management plan; “solar panel” means a solar photovoltaic panel or module designed to convert solar irradiance to electrical energy; “substation” means a compound containing electrical equipment required to switch, transform, convert electricity; “switchgear” means a combination of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment; and “transformer” means a structure containing an electrical device to transform electricity to a different voltage. 2 In the Unitary authority areas of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire a nationally significant infrastructure project as defined in sections 14 and 15 of the 2008 Act and associated development under section 115(1)(b) of the 2008 Act. The nationally significant infrastructure project comprises one generating station with a gross electrical output capacity of over 50 megawatts comprising all or any of the work numbers in this Schedule or any part of any work number in this Schedule— Work No. 1— a ground mounted solar photovoltaic generating station with a gross electrical output capacity of over 50 megawatts including— (a) solar panels fitted to mounting structures; and (b) field stations; and associated development within the meaning of section 115(2) of the 2008 Act including— Work No. 2— development of onsite substations and associated works including— (a) substations, switch room buildings and ancillary equipment including reactive power units and harmonic filters; and (b) monitoring and control systems housed within a control building or located separately in their own containers or control rooms, with welfare facilities. Work No. 3— works to lay electrical cables and compounds for the electrical cables including— (a) works to lay 132kV electrical cables connecting Work No. 2 to the National Grid Drax Substation, including link boxes and tunnelling, boring and drilling works for trenchless crossings; (b) electrical engineering works within or around the National Grid Drax Substation including the laying and terminating of the electrical cables and ancillary equipment; and (c) construction and decommissioning compounds, including site and welfare offices and areas to store materials and equipment. Work No. 4— works including— (a) electrical cables, including but not limited to electrical cables connecting Works No. 1, 2 and 3 to one another and connecting solar panels to one another and the field stations including tunnelling, boring and drilling works for trenchless crossings; (b) landscaping and biodiversity mitigation and enhancement measures including planting; (c) earthworks; (d) laying down of temporary footpath diversions, permissive paths, signage and information boards; (e) hardstanding and parking areas; (f) sustainable drainage systems including ponds, runoff outfalls, general drainage and irrigation infrastructure, systems and improvements or extensions to existing drainage and irrigation systems; (g) fencing, gates, boundary treatment and other means of enclosure; (h) works for the provision of security and monitoring measures such as CCTV columns, cameras, lighting columns and lighting, weather stations, perimeter fencing and communication infrastructure; (i) improvement, maintenance and use of existing private tracks; (j) laying down of internal access tracks, ramps, means of access, footpaths, crossing of watercourses and roads, including the laying and construction of drainage infrastructure, signage and information boards; (k) construction and decommissioning compounds, including site and welfare offices and areas to store materials and equipment; and (l) works to divert and underground existing electrical overhead lines. Work No. 5— construction and decommissioning compounds including— (a) areas of hardstanding; (b) parking areas; (c) site and welfare offices, canteens and workshops; (d) security infrastructure, including cameras, perimeter fencing and lighting; (e) areas to store materials and equipment and waste skips; (f) site drainage and waste management infrastructure (including sewerage); and (g) electricity, water, waste water and telecommunications connections. Work No. 6— works to develop operations and maintenance buildings including— (a) demolition and alteration of existing structures; (b) offices, security and welfare facilities; (c) storage facilities; and (d) parking areas. Work No. 7— works to facilitate access to Work Nos. 1 to 6, and 8 including— (a) creation of accesses from the public highway; (b) creation of visibility splays; (c) works to widen and surface the public highway and private means of access; and (d) works adjacent to highways and accesses including those to structures, boundary features, drainage features on private land required for the facilitation of movement of abnormal indivisible loads associated with the authorised development. Work No. 8— areas of habitat management including— (a) landscape and biodiversity enhancement measures; (b) habitat creation and management including earthworks and landscaping, signage and information boards; (c) construction of drainage infrastructure and means of access; (d) laying down of internal access tracks, means of access and crossing of watercourses, permissive paths; and (e) fencing gates boundary treatment and other means of enclosure. In connection with and in addition to Work Nos. 1 to 8 further associated development within the Order limits, including— (a) works for the provision of fencing and security measures such as CCTV, columns, lighting and communication boxes; (b) laying down of internal access tracks, ramps and span bridges, means of access, non-motorised links, footpaths and footways, laying and surfacing of permissive paths; (c) laying down of temporary footpath diversions, permissive paths and construction of drainage infrastructure, signage and information boards; (d) bunds, embankments, trenching and swales; (e) boundary treatments, including means of enclosure; (f) habitat creation and management including earthworks, landscaping, means of enclosure and the laying and construction of drainage infrastructure; (g) landscaping and other works to mitigate any adverse effects of construction, maintenance or operation of the authorised development; (h) electrical, gas, water, foul water drainage and telecommunications infrastructure connections, diversions ..., and works to alter the position of, such services and utilities connections; (i) works to alter the course of, or otherwise interfere with, non-navigable rivers, streams or watercourses; (j) works to the existing irrigation system and works to alter the position and extent of such irrigation system; (k) surface water drainage systems, storm water attenuation systems including storage basins, oil water separators, including channelling and culverting and works to existing drainage systems; (l) site establishments and preparation works including site clearance (including vegetation removal, demolition of existing buildings and structures); earthworks (including soil stripping and storage and site levelling) and excavations; the alteration of the position of services and utilities; and works for the protection of buildings and land; (m) tunnelling, boring and drilling works; (n) working sites in connection with the construction and decommissioning of the authorised development and its restoration; and (o) other works to mitigate any adverse effects of the construction, maintenance, operation or decommissioning of the authorised development, and further associated development comprising such other works or operations as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the construction, operation and maintenance or decommissioning of the authorised development but only within the Order limits and insofar as they are unlikely to give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects from those assessed in the environmental statement.