On 6 February 2026, the Stonestreet Green Solar (Correction) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/131) entered into force. Made on 5 February 2026 on behalf of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, it amends the Stonestreet Green Solar Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/1175) using powers in section 119 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Planning Act 2008. The instrument is a technical correction to the Development Consent Order rather than a reconsideration of the underlying decision.
According to the Order, the 2025 instrument contained correctable errors within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Schedule 4. Before the end of the statutory ‘relevant period’, the applicant submitted a written request for correction and each relevant local planning authority was informed in line with paragraph 1(7). This process is designed to address drafting slips and document‑reference issues without reopening the planning judgement on the project.
Under paragraph 1 of Schedule 4, correction orders are time‑limited and confined to errors or omissions in the decision document. A request must reach the Secretary of State before the end of the six‑week period that follows the making of a DCO, and any decision to correct must be recorded by notice. The correction route sits alongside, but is distinct from, the post‑consent change procedures for non‑material and material changes.
In this case, Article 2 and the Schedule substitute and clarify entries in the table of certified documents. For the “outline operational surface water drainage strategy, appendices A, B, C and D”, the Order confirms the application library reference as 7.14(B), the version as 3, and the document date as January 2025. These details standardise which iteration governs compliance and design.
The Order also inserts a new entry after “Chapter 13: Traffic and Access” to certify additional environmental material. The table now includes “Environmental statement – Chapter 8: Landscape and Views, Figures 8.1–8.11.4 (Part 1 of 2)”, identified as 5.3(A), dated March 2025, with the Planning Inspectorate examination library tag [REP4‑012]. This ensures the correct figure set is legally referenced during implementation.
Certified documents carry legal weight because they fix the exact versions that govern construction, mitigation and monitoring. Aligning the drainage strategy and environmental figures to the cited versions reduces ambiguity for the undertaker, contractors and regulators when discharging requirements, preparing method statements or evidencing environmental commitments.
For applicants, Schedule 4 offers a short and targeted route to rectify errors that emerge after an order is made but before the end of the relevant period. Requests should specify the precise correction sought, identify the affected article or schedule, and provide the text for substitution or insertion. Departments typically notify the relevant local planning authorities before deciding whether to issue a correction notice.
For local planning authorities, the immediate task is to update internal DCO compliance registers and ensure that any approvals, inspections and enforcement activity rely on the corrected identifiers and dates. Where submissions or decisions have referenced superseded versions, authorities should check whether the updated references alter any live applications to discharge requirements or inform monitoring plans.
Schedule 4 corrections are not a vehicle for scheme change. Alterations to the authorised development, limits of deviation or requirements fall under the separate change regimes in the Infrastructure Planning (Changes to, and Revocation of, Development Consent Orders) Regulations 2011 (as amended), with their own consultation expectations and decision processes. Outside the relevant period, applicants should consider those routes.
This correction order is therefore a documentation tidy‑up rather than a policy shift. It was signed on behalf of the Secretary of State by John Wheadon, Head of Energy Infrastructure Planning Delivery & Innovation at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Stakeholders should now rely on the corrected certified documents listed in the Order for all compliance, design and assurance purposes.