What happens next
Dates for the Examination can be viewed on the Examination Timetable page.
Notice of the Procedural Decision has been issued by the Examining Authority to Interested Parties in the Rule 8 letter; this includes information about how the Examination will be conducted and the Examination Timetable as currently set out.
05/03/2024 - Deadline for close of examination. See the Examination Timetable for further information.If you have a legal interest in land affected by a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and:
- have not been identified by the Applicant; and
- did not register to become an Interested Party;
then you can make a request to the Examining Authority to become an Interested Party under s102A of the Planning Act 2008.
Timeline (19 items)

The Examination Timetable (Rule 8 letter) has been sent to Interested Parties
Procedural decision following Preliminary Meeting

Video recordings and transcripts from the Preliminary Meeting and Open Floor Hearing 1 held on Tuesday 5 September 2023 have been published. Video recordings and transcripts from Issue Specific Hearing 1 on the Draft Development Consent Order held on Wednesday 6 September 2023 have also been published.
The Examination Library (PDF, 642KB) has been updated.

The Preliminary Meeting, Open Floor Hearing 1 and Issue Specific Hearing 1 will be taking place in the West Hall, EPIC Centre, Lincolnshire Showground, Grange-de-Lings, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 2NA during the week commencing Monday 4 September 2023. Agendas for the Preliminary Meeting (PDF, 392 KB), Open Floor Hearing 1 (PDF, 124KB) Issue Specific Hearing 1 on the draft Development Consent Order (PDF, 160KB) have been published.
Joining Instructions for virtual attendance at the Preliminary Meeting, Open Floor Hearing 1 and Issue Specific Hearing 1 will be provided in advance of the event.
A livestream of these hearings will be available at https://cvslivestream.co.uk/cottamsolar/ during each event. Please note that the event will start broadcasting LIVE when opened by the Examining Authority. If the Livestream does not initially work, it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

- Preliminary Meeting takes place
- Examination begins

The Preliminary Meeting, Open Floor Hearing 1 and Issue Specific Hearing 1 will be taking place in the West Hall, EPIC Centre, Lincolnshire Showground, Grange-de-Lings, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 2NA during the week commencing Monday 4 September 2023. Agendas for the Preliminary Meeting (PDF, 392 KB), Open Floor Hearing 1 (PDF, 124KB) Issue Specific Hearing 1 on the draft Development Consent Order (PDF, 160KB) have been published.
Joining Instructions for virtual attendance at the Preliminary Meeting, Open Floor Hearing 1 and Issue Specific Hearing 1 will be provided in advance of the event.
A livestream of these hearings will be available at https://cvslivestream.co.uk/cottamsolar/ during each event. Please note that the event will start broadcasting LIVE when opened by the Examining Authority. If the Livestream does not initially work, it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

Submissions made for Procedural Deadline A on Tuesday 22 August 2023 have been published.
Additional Submissions from multiple parties have been accepted into Examination by the discretion of the Examining Authority.
The agenda for the Preliminary Meeting (392 KB, PDF) has been published as part of the Rule 6 documentation. The agendas for Open Floor Hearing 1 (124 KB, PDF) and Issue Specific Hearing 1 on the draft Development Consent Order (160 KB, PDF) have been published.
The Examination Library (633 KB, PDF) will be updated shortly.

The notification of Preliminary Meeting (Rule 6 letter) has been sent Read the letter
The letter also includes the draft Examination Timetable and Initial Assessment of Principal Issues.

A document has been appended to the Relevant Representation made by the Environment Agency for the Cottam Solar Project.

An amendment has been made to append a document to the Relevant Representation made by Kexby Parish Council for the Cottam Solar Project.

The Examining Authority has accepted 13 Additional Submissions from the Applicant in response to s51 advice given at the time this Applicant was Accepted for Examination.
A document has been appended to the Relevant Representation made by Patricia Mitchell.
The Examination Library (PDF, 596 KB) has been updated.

The Examining Authority has exercised its discretion to accept Additional Submissions from the following parties:
- The Coal Authority (PDF, 109KB)
- EDF – Thermal Generation Limited (PDF, 349KB)
The Examination Library (PDF, 357KB) will be updated shortly.





The application documents have been published.
The documents have been published to help you become familiar with the proposal. There is no opportunity to make comments on the application at this stage.
If the application is accepted you will be able to register and express your views during the Registration and Relevant Representation stage and the subsequent Examination. Further detail on this process is provided in Advice Note 8.2.

This application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on Thursday 12 January 2023.
The applicant has agreed that all application documents can be published as soon as practicable to help everyone become familiar with the detail of what is being proposed in this application. The Planning Inspectorate will therefore make the application documents available as soon as practicable.
This provision is solely for the purpose of allowing more time to all those who wish to become familiar with the detail of what is being proposed ahead of the Registration and Relevant Representation period without lengthening the overall time required for the application process. There will be no opportunity at this stage to make comments on the application. However, if the application is accepted anyone interested in the application will be able to register and express their views during the Registration and Relevant Representation stage and the subsequent examination.

- Application expected from applicant
- Application received by the Planning Inspectorate