Local Democracy Reporter
Light Valley Solar Limited has outlined nine proposed amendments to its application, including removing solar panels from an area near homes, creating new wildlife habitat and altering construction access routes.
The changes would also affect land rights, access for large vehicles and the layout of electrical infrastructure.
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The developer is seeking a development consent order for a network of seven solar farms on 1,020 hectares of land between the villages of Escrick, Monk Fryston, Hambleton, Chapel Haddlesey and South Milford, between York and Selby.
A 500MW battery energy storage system (BESS) is proposed as part of the development, as well as underground cabling to connect the sites to the national grid at Monk Fryston substation.
Among the changes is the proposed removal of solar panels from land south of Milford Lodge and Milford Lodge Cottage.
The land would instead become an area of grassland managed to provide habitat for ground-nesting birds.
The developer says the change follows discussions with North Yorkshire Council about bird habitat provision.
However, it maintains that the additional habitat is not necessary to mitigate the development’s environmental impacts, describing the proposal as a response to the council’s concerns.
The removal of panels would also increase the distance between the development and Milford Lodge Cottage, following representations from residents.
The developer has also been in discussions with Sherburn Aero Club and says removing panels near a proposed emergency landing strip would improve safety for aircraft making emergency landings.
Elsewhere, alternative construction access routes are being considered near Field House Farm following concerns about the potential impact of construction traffic on the farming business.
The developer is examining different routes, including an option involving a temporary crossing over Dam Dike.
Ecological surveys and discussions with North Yorkshire Council, the Environment Agency and drainage authorities are helping determine which option should be taken forward.
Other proposed changes include reducing the amount of land required at one of the solar development sites by approximately 0.24 hectares and enlarging the proposed 275kV substation compound by 0.2 hectares.
Two additional access points are also proposed from Rawfield Lane into the National Grid substation at Monk Fryston.
Further amendments would allow oversized vehicles delivering transformers to access parts of the development, including through changes to land rights and the temporary widening of a culvert over Roe Lane Drain.
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Some of the proposals would require additional land or permanent rights over land, bringing them within compulsory acquisition regulations.
The developer says 103 parties have been identified as having legal rights or interests in land affected by the proposed changes.
It has proposed holding public consultation after submitting the formal change application, rather than consulting beforehand.
In its notification to the Planning Inspectorate, the company argues that the amendments are “small in scale” and involve “very minor changes to the Proposed Development that will be of limited interest to the wider community”.
It also maintains that the changes are “not so substantial as to constitute a materially different project”.
Environmental assessments are being undertaken, although the developer says it does not currently expect the amendments to result in materially different adverse environmental effects.
Under the timetable proposed in the September notification, consultation would begin on October 29 and close on December 3, with further hearings, if required, in January 2027.
The proposed development has faced opposition from local residents, parish councils and councillors over concerns about the loss of agricultural land, the impact on the rural landscape and the potential harm to wildlife and heritage assets.
Opponents have questioned the scale and location of the scheme, arguing that it would industrialise large areas of countryside and affect the character of nearby villages.
Concerns have also been raised about the quality of farmland earmarked for development, the proximity of solar panels to homes and the cumulative impact of other renewable energy projects in the area.
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