The Heckington Fen Solar Park Order 2025

PART 1 PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Heckington Fen Solar Park Order 2025 and comes into force on 17th February 2025.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the 1961 Act” means the Land Compensation Act 1961(1);

“the 1965 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965(2);

“the 1980 Act” means the Highways Act 1980(3);

“the 1981 Act” means the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981(4);

“the 1989 Act” means the Electricity Act 1989(5);

“the 1990 Act” means the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(6);

“the 1991 Act” means the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991(7);

“the 2003 Act” means the Communications Act 2003(8);

“the 2008 Act” means the Planning Act 2008(9);

“the 2015 Order” means the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015(10);

“apparatus” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (street works in England and Wales) of the 1991 Act except that, unless otherwise provided, it further includes pipelines (and parts of them), aerial markers, cathodic protection test posts, field boundary markers, transformer rectifier kiosks, electricity cables, telecommunications equipment and electricity cabinets;

“authorised development” means the development and associated development described in Schedule 1 (authorised development) which is development within the meaning of section 32 (meaning of “development”) of the 2008 Act authorised by this Order;

“book of reference” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the book of reference for the purposes of this Order;

“building” includes any structure or erection or any part of a building, structure or erection;

“carriageway” has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act;

“commence” means beginning to carry out a material operation, as defined in section 155 (when development begins) of the 2008 Act, comprised in or carried out for the purposes of the authorised development other than the permitted preliminary works (except where stated to the contrary) and “commencement” and “commenced” are to be construed accordingly;

“commissioning” means the process of testing all systems and components in order to ensure that, they and the authorised development as a whole, function in accordance with plant design specifications and the undertaker’s operational and safety requirements;

“county authority” means Lincolnshire County Council;

“date of final commissioning” means in respect of each phase of the authorised development as notified under requirement 3 of Schedule 2 (requirements) that contains part or all of Work No. 1 each such phase commences operation by generating electricity on a commercial basis but excluding the generation of electricity during commissioning;

“electronic transmission” means a communication transmitted—

(a)

by means of an electronic communications network; or

(b)

by other means but while in electronic form;

“environmental statement” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the environmental statement for the purposes of this Order;

“flood risk assessment” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the flood risk assessment for the purposes of this Order;

“footpath” and “footway” have the same meaning as in the 1980 Act(11);

“highway” and “highway authority” have the same meaning as in the 1980 Act(12);

“holding company” has the same meaning as in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006(13);

“important hedgerows plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the important hedgerows plan for the purposes of this Order;

“interface area plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the interface area plan for the purposes of this Order;

“land and crown land plans” means the plans of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which are certified by the Secretary of State as the land and crown land plans for the purposes of this Order;

“limits of deviation” means the limits of deviation shown for each numbered work on the works plans;

“maintain” includes inspect, repair, adjust, alter, remove, refurbish, reconstruct, replace and improve any part of, but not remove, reconstruct or replace the whole of, the authorised development to the extent that such works do not give rise to any materially new or materially different environmental effects than those identified in the environmental statement and “maintenance” and “maintaining” are to be construed accordingly;

“NGET” means National Grid Electricity Transmission Plc (company number 2366977) whose registered office is at 1 to 3 Strand, London WC2N 5EH;

“NGET 2005 Permission” means planning permission B/05/0046 granted by Boston Borough Council on 20 April 2005 (and any variation thereof);

“Order land” means the land shown on the land and crown land plans which is within the limits of land to be acquired or used and described in the book of reference;

“Order limits” means the limits shown on the land and crown land plans and works plans within which the authorised development may be carried out and land acquired or used;

“outline energy storage safety management plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline energy storage safety management plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline construction environmental management plan” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline construction environmental management plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline construction traffic management plan” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline construction traffic management plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline decommissioning and restoration plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline decommissioning and restoration plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline design principles” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline design principles for the purposes of this Order;

“outline landscape ecological management plan” means the document of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline landscape ecological management plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline operational environmental management plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline operational environmental management plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline soil management plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline soil management plan for the purposes of this Order;

“outline supply chain, employment and skills plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the outline supply chain, employment, and skills plan for the purposes of this Order;

“owner”, in relation to land, has the same meaning as in section 7 (interpretation) of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981(14);

“permissive path” means a new access path providing public access with permission within the Order limits along the route shown on the works plan;

“permitted preliminary works” means all or any of—

(a)

environmental surveys, geotechnical surveys, intrusive archaeological surveys and other investigations for the purpose of assessing ground conditions, demolition of buildings and removal of plant and machinery;

(b)

above ground site preparation for temporary facilities for the use of contractors;

(c)

remedial work in respect of any contamination or other adverse ground conditions;

(d)

diversion of existing services and the laying of temporary services;

(e)

the provision of temporary means of enclosure and site security for construction;

(f)

the temporary display of site notices or advertisements; or

(g)

site clearance (including vegetation removal, demolition of existing buildings and structures).

“relevant planning authority” means the local planning authority for the area in which the land to which the provisions of this Order apply is situated and as more particularly described for the purposes of the requirements in Schedule 2 (requirements);

“requirements” means those matters set out in Schedule 2 (requirements) and “requirement” means any one of the requirements;

“rights of way plan” means the plan of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the rights of way plan for the purposes of this Order;

“statutory undertaker” means any person falling within section 127(8) (statutory undertakers’ land) of the 2008 Act and includes a public communications provider defined by section 151(1) (interpretation of chapter 1) of the 2003 Act;

“street” means a street within the meaning of section 48 (streets, street works and undertakers) of the 1991 Act, together with land on the verge of a street or between two carriageways, and includes any footpath and part of a street;

“street authority”, in relation to a street, has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the 1991 Act(15);

“streets and access plans” means the plans of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which are certified by the Secretary of State as the streets and access plans for the purposes of this Order;

“street works” means the works listed in article 8(1) (street works);

“subsidiary” has the same meaning as in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006;

“undertaker” means Ecotricity (Heck Fen Solar) Limited (company number 13225224);

“Upper Tribunal” means the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal;

“watercourse” includes every river, stream, creek, ditch, drain, canal, cut, culvert, dyke, sluice, sewer and passage through which water flows except a public sewer or drain; and

“works plans” means the plans of that name identified in the table at Schedule 11 (documents and plans to be certified) and which is certified by the Secretary of State as the works plans for the purposes of this Order.

(2) References in this Order to rights over land include references to rights to do or restrain or to place and maintain anything in, on or under land or in the airspace above its surface and to any trusts or incidents (including restrictive covenants) to which the land is subject and references in this Order to the imposition of restrictive covenants are references to the creation of rights over land which interfere with the interests or rights of another and are for the benefit of land which is acquired under this Order or over which rights are created and acquired under this Order or is otherwise comprised in this Order.

(3) All distances, directions, capacities and lengths referred to in this Order are approximate and distances between lines or points on a numbered work comprised in the authorised development and shown on the works plans, the streets and access plans, and rights of way plan are to be taken to be measured along that work.

(4) References in this Order to numbered works are references to the works comprising the authorised development as numbered in Schedule 1 (authorised development) and shown on the works plans.

(5) In this Order, the expression “includes” is to be construed without limitation.

(6) In this Order, references to any statutory body include that body’s successor bodies.

(7) All areas described in square metres in the book of reference are approximate.

(1)

1961 c. 33.

(2)

1965 c. 56.

(3)

1980 c. 66.

(4)

1981 c. 66.

(5)

1989 c. 29.

(6)

1990 c. 8.

(7)

1991 c. 22. Section 48(3A) was inserted by section 124 of the Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26). Sections 78(4), 80(4), and 83(4) were amended by section 40 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Traffic Management Act 2004 (c. 18).

(8)

2003 c. 21.

(9)

2008 c. 29.

(10)

S.I. 2015/ 596.

(11)

“footpath” and “footway” are defined in section 329(1).

(12)

“highway” is defined in section 328(1). For “highway authority” see section 1.

(13)

2006 c. 46.

(14)

1981 c. 67.

(15)

“street authority” is defined in section 49, which was amended by paragraph 117 of Schedule 1 to the Infrastructure Act 2015 (c. 7).