One Planet Developments has been granted planning permission for a 40MW solar PV installation in Nottinghamshire.
The development was approved by the Planning Inspectorate after One Planet filed a disqualification appeal, with an investigation carried out in January this year.
The 56 MWp Normanton Larches Solar Farm was first submitted to Bassetlaw District Council in April 2024 and the project was due to be connected to the grid in December 2025.
However, no decision has yet been made for the location, which will also include a battery energy storage system (BESS), by the determination date of April 11, 2025. In allowing the appeal, the planning inspector found that the public benefits would ‘clearly and convincingly outweigh any identified harm to the significance of heritage assets’ in the area.
The 40MW site now has a Gate 2 Phase 1 connection offer from the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
While the appeal did not challenge an outright refusal, the local planning authority’s inability to reach a decision in time is indicative of one of the obstacles developers face in pushing a project through planning.
A update of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) The plan, implemented by the government in December, stipulates that planning authorities must give “significant weight to the benefits associated with renewable and low-carbon energy generation and the proposal’s contribution to a net zero future” when assessing applications.
However, some local residents see the development of solar energy as industrialization of the local countrysideand as a risk to food security if solar farms replace traditional agriculture, which is the reason behind this another sun denial. That project was also approved after appeal.
As Josh Cornes, senior analyst at Solar Media Market Research, noted in a recent articlerefusal rates at local planning authority level are increasing annually, with 50 projects, for a total of 2.4 GWp, in the appeal process from September 2025.
Denials often lead to successful appeals due to inconsistencies in decision-making, delaying projects and causing unnecessary private and public expenditure.
