Heckington Fen Solar Park 

Project overview 

Pegasus supported Ecotricity with a Development Consent Order (DCO) application for a nationally significant solar and energy storage scheme. At the time of submission, Heckington Fen was the largest ground-mounted solar and energy scheme to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration.  

Once built, the scheme will offer enough power for over 100,000 homes in the local area and prevent 75,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from entering the atmosphere – and is expected to contribute over £1 million per year in business rates to the local economy. 

While Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) follow a streamlined planning approval path, the DCO process is nonetheless very rigorous. Plans are examined by the Planning Inspectorate, and the scheme must undergo extensive pre-application public consultation prior to determination by the Secretary of State (SoS). 

Pegasus Group supported the project from the initial design stage, leading the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and providing multidisciplinary expertise across landscape planning and design, planning, transport, heritage and economics to support the planning application.  

Following the public hearings with Planning Inspectorate in 2024, the SoS approved the application in January 2025. The scheme is due to commence construction in late 2026. 

The challenge 

Government policy states that solar projects should seek to minimise impacts on the best and most versatile (BMV) for agriculture. Where schemes are to be sited on BMV agricultural land the SoS should consider the economic and other benefits of that land. 

Heckington Fen fell under the jurisdiction of three different local authorities, and with a number of solar farms proposed in the wider area, there were local concerns about the use of farmland for solar panels and for land that was being offered for biodiversity net gain (BNG). In this situation Natural England was content to change high grade agricultural land from intensive farming for ecological benefits, but the local authorities were not. 

The DCO process is also such that, once consent is given, there is no opportunity to deviate from the plans. This means that the design and all assessments throughout the process must be precise and deliverable for the client.  

This was a particular challenge for the cabling and connections into the National Grid substation. While the DCO required certainty, National Grid operate a different gateway check process from the standard planning system, which makes it difficult to confirm exactly where the connection points would be.  

Previous plans for a wind farm on the site had met with strong local opposition, but the solar farm proposal was much better received as the local community felt that a solar farm would have a lower visual impact on their landscape. However, consideration still had to be given to how much of the installation would be visible to those living in the wider area, while not materially changing the landscape. 

The solution 

Pegasus worked closely with the planning officers at the two district councils, Lincolnshire County Council, as well as Natural England to address concerns and make sure that the documentation supplied for the DCO was robust and plans deliverable. 

The Environment team assessed the Heckington Fen site’s BMV land alongside the cumulative effects, against Lincolnshire’s existing agricultural land.  

Designs were refined for the planning submission to minimise the use of BMV land, with the site amounting to 49% BMV land.  

An economic case for ongoing agricultural use in the form of grazing during the operational life of the scheme was also demonstrated.  

Furthermore, the design considered how the installation would look to local residents and was altered to minimise the impact. The Landscape Design team developed a Landscape and Ecological Management Plan (LEMP) to include new screening planting, but also ecological opportunities to ensure the BNG requirements of the scheme were achieved. 

For the cabling route and connections, Pegasus built a strong relationship with National Grid and, through detailed consultation, navigated last-minute changes to their requirements all under strict time constraints. 

The Planning and Environment team also responded to revisions in the National Policy Statements as they were being made during the DCO process.  

To support the submission, Pegasus’s Economics team worked on assessing the wider impact of the influx of workers on the area during construction. They reviewed accommodation requirements, impact on health facilities and other services, as well as potential spend within the local economy.  

Since the solar and energy storage plans were drawn up, work had started on a new school close to the site. Pegasus worked with the school on construction timings to minimise any disruption and ensure there was no glare or reflections from the panels into the classrooms.  

Part of the BNG plans include establishing a community orchard near the school, which will be used for outside education.    

The SoS concluded in January 2025 that, having considered the matters examined through the application, the benefits of the Proposed Development outweigh its adverse impacts and that development consent should be granted. 

Laura White, Senior Development Manager of Ecotricity, commented, “The Pegasus team has a wealth of experience on a variety of topics, and having a multitude of teams within a single business was hugely beneficial to the project. 

Their Planning and Environment teams efficiently managed the EIA process, Transport and Infrastructure led on traffic management and are currently assisting with implementation, Heritage expertly balanced asset impacts with public benefits, and Economics covered local impact assessments. 

Oversight from start to finish kept us on time, and their EIA expertise is a credit to Pegasus.” 

 

If you’d like to discuss how Pegasus can support your development, get in touch.