The Oaklands Farm Solar Park (Correction) Order 2025

This Order, known as the Oaklands Farm Solar Park (Correction) Order 2025, formally enacts corrections to the original 2025 Development Consent Order (DCO) granted under the Planning Act 2008, following a request from the applicant.

The Order specifies these technical amendments, primarily involving the substitution of lists, numbering sequences, and minor textual variations across various articles and schedules pertaining to the solar park development, and it came into force on October 9th, 2025.

Arguments For

  • Provides immediate rectification of administrative or drafting errors in a significant energy infrastructure consent, ensuring the project's legal documentation accurately reflects the Secretary of State's intentions.

  • Upholds the procedural integrity required by the Planning Act 2008, specifically Schedule 4, by formally addressing the applicant's request to fix mistakes in the original development consent order (DCO).

  • Enables the project developer (the applicant) to proceed with clarity, preventing potential legal disputes or construction delays that confusion over inconsistent numbering or phrasing in the DCO might cause.

Arguments Against

  • Implies initial administrative oversight by the decision-making body (Secretary of State), raising questions about the robustness of the review process for major infrastructure applications.

  • Any correction, even minor, can create temporary uncertainty until the public and affected parties can verify the changes listed against the original consent.

  • The extensive corrections detailed in the schedule, involving renumbering and substitution across multiple works descriptions, suggest the original DCO contained numerous inconsistent references.

The Oaklands Farm Solar Park Order 2025 (“the 2025 Order”)¹, which granted development consent within the meaning of the Planning Act 2008² (“the Act”) contains correctable errors within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Act.

In accordance with paragraph 1(5)(a) of Schedule 4 to the Act, before the end of the relevant period³, the Secretary of State received a written request from the applicant⁴ for the correction of errors in the 2025 Order.

In accordance with paragraph 1(7) of Schedule 4 to the Act, the Secretary of State has informed each relevant local planning authority⁵ for the area in which the land to which the Order relates is situated that the request has been received.

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraphs 1(4) and 1(8) of Schedule 4 to, the Act, makes the following Order.

Citation and commencement1.

This Order may be cited as the Oaklands Farm Solar Park (Correction) Order 2025 and comes into force on 9th October 2025.

Corrections2.

The Oaklands Farm Solar Park Order 2025 is corrected as set out in the table in the Schedule to this Order, in which—

(a)

column 1 sets out where the correction is to be made;

(b)

column 2 sets out how the correction is to be made; and

(c)

column 3 sets out the text which is to be substituted.

ScheduleCorrections

Article 2

(1) Where the correction is made

(2) How the correction is made

(3) Text to be substituted

Part 2, Article 7(1)(a)

For “; or—” substitute

“; or”

Part 3, Article 8(1)

For “within the order limits” substitute

“within the Order limits”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 2

For “(c)...(d)...(e)...(f)...(g)...(h)...(i)...(j)...(k)...(l)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...(e)...(f)...(g)...(h)...(i)...(j)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 3

For “(m)...(n)...(o)...(p)...(q)...(r)...(s)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...(e)...(f)...(g)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 4

For “(t)...(u)...(v)...(w)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 4A

For “(x)...(y)...(z)...(aa)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 4C

For “(bb)...(cc)...(dd)...(ee)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 4D

For “(ff)...(gg)...(hh)...(ii)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 5

For “(jj)...(kk)...(ll)...(mm)...(nn)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...(e)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 5A

For “(oo)...(pp)...(qq)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 5B

For “(rr)...(ss)...(tt)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 6

For “(uu)...(vv)...(ww)...(xx)...(yy)...(zz)...(aaa)...(bbb)...(ccc)...(ddd)...(eee)...(fff)...(ggg)...(hhh)...(iii)...(jjj)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...(e)...(f)...(g)...(h)...(i)...(j)...(k)...(l)...(m)...(n)...(o)...(p)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 7

For “(kkk)...(lll)...(mmm)...(nnn)...(ooo)...(ppp)...(qqq)...(rrr)...(sss)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...(e)...(f)...(g)...(h)...(i)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 8

For “(ttt)...(uuu)...(vvv)...(www)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 9

For “(xxx)...(yyy)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, paragraph 2, Work No. 10

For “(zzz)...and (aaaa)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...”

Schedule 1, Part 1, at the end of paragraph 2 after Work No. 10

For “(bbbb)...(cccc)...(dddd)...(eeee)...(ffff)...(gggg)...(hhhh)...(iiii)...(jjjj)...(kkkk)...” substitute

“(a)...(b)...(c)...(d)...(e)...(f)...(g)...(h)...(i)...(j)...”

Schedule 1, Part 3, paragraph 28(1)(b)

For “under paragraph 30” substitute

“under paragraph 29”

Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order corrects errors in the Oaklands Farm Solar Park Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/739), a development consent order made under the Planning Act 2008, following a request made under paragraph 1(5)(a) of Schedule 4 to that Act.