Rotherham Council raises concerns over Whitestone Solar Farm plans

Councillors were updated at a planning board meeting on November 27 as part of the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) process.

If approved, Whitestone would be one of the largest solar developments in the UK, covering almost 2,000 hectares across Doncaster and Rotherham and generating up to 750 megawatts of electricity. Although the final decision will rest with the Secretary of State, Rotherham Council is a statutory consultee.

The authority’s report criticises the draft Environmental Statement published by the developer earlier this year. It says the documents do not adequately assess impacts on nearby wildlife sites and lack detail on habitat protection and long-term land management. Officers have recommended removing solar panels from the most sensitive ecological areas.

The council also warns that the scheme could create major changes to the rural landscape, with more visual evidence needed to understand the impact of fencing, security equipment and large-scale solar infrastructure. Heritage concerns were also raised, with the council saying the plans may harm several listed buildings and archaeological sites without further assessment.

One of the clearest objections relates to the possibility of routing underground cables through Maltby Landfill, which the council says it strongly opposes due to risks to containment systems and nearby receptors. Concerns were also raised about the project’s proximity to Kiveton Park Landfill site.

The authority also acknowledged complaints from residents and parish councils about the consultation process, including too few in-person events and issues with a freepost address for responses to be sent to. These issues will be raised with the Planning Inspectorate, which must decide whether the consultation meets legal requirements.

At the meeting, senior planning officer Lisa Brooks stressed that the council is “merely a statutory consultee” in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process, but said it still plays “a really important role”. She said Rotherham and Doncaster officers have been meeting the developers “almost monthly”, not to discuss the merits of the scheme but to provide information needed for the application.

Ms Brooks also said the council had taken legal advice on whether two smaller planning applications for solar farms should factor in Whitestone. The advice was “very clear”: cumulative impacts can only be considered once a scheme has planning permission. As those applications will be decided first, they do not need to account for Whitestone, but Whitestone will need to take them into account if they are approved.

A spokesperson for Whitestone said the project was still in its early stages and that feedback from local authorities and the public was being reviewed. They said the company would “work to address and mitigate” the issues raised before submitting an updated application next year.

The spokesperson added that the recent six-week consultation involved hundreds of residents and eight public events, including one added following feedback. They said there had been “no issue” with the freepost address, which received around 8,000 responses.

“In the coming period, we will work to address and mitigate these issues as well as possible in the updated proposals we will submit to the Planning Inspectorate next year,” they added.

“We will continue to work closely with Rotherham, the other local authorities and statutory bodies as the project develops.

“There was no issue with the Freepost address, which was used to receive approximately 8,000 pieces of post during this period.”