The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has issued the Stonestreet Green Solar (Correction) Order 2026 (SI 2026/131), made on 5 February 2026 and in force from 6 February 2026. The instrument is made under section 119 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Planning Act 2008 following a written request by the applicant within the statutory ‘relevant period’. The Secretary of State notified the relevant local planning authorities before making the order, as required by the Act.
The corrections relate to the Stonestreet Green Solar Order 2025 (SI 2025/1175), which granted development consent for a 99.9MW solar photovoltaic scheme with energy storage at Aldington, Kent, promoted by EPL 001 Limited. The Secretary of State’s development consent decision was issued on 23 October 2025. (gov.uk)
The order regularises entries in the schedule of documents to be certified. First, it clarifies the listing for the ‘Outline Operational Surface Water Drainage Strategy, appendices A–D’ by confirming the document reference is 7.14(B), the version is 3, and the document date is January 2025. This aligns the certified record with the drainage strategy materials used at examination, where versioning of document 7.14 is recorded. (national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk)
Second, the order inserts a new certified entry immediately after the Environmental Statement ‘Chapter 13: Traffic and Access’. The new row certifies ‘Environmental Statement – Chapter 8: Landscape and Views, Figures 8.1–8.11.4, Part 1 of 2’ with document reference 5.3(A), a document date of March 2025, and the Planning Inspectorate library identifier [REP4-012]. The examination library records this submission at Deadline 4, confirming its scope and reference. (infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk)
Why this matters for practitioners is straightforward: the certified documents schedule anchors how the development consent order is interpreted and enforced. Confirming the correct document references, versions and dates reduces the risk of ambiguity when discharging requirements, preparing design details and running compliance checks. For Stonestreet Green, the clarified drainage strategy record will guide surface water design principles, maintenance responsibilities and associated approvals, while certification of the Chapter 8 figure set fixes the visual baseline referenced in the LVIA and in any landscaping approvals flowing from the consent. (national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk)
Local planning authorities and consultees should now reference these corrected entries when determining submissions under the DCO’s requirements. In practice, approval notices, compliance trackers and officer reports should cite ‘7.14(B), version 3 (January 2025)’ for operational drainage matters and identify the certified ES Figure set ‘5.3(A), Part 1 of 2 (March 2025) [REP4-012]’ where viewpoints and visualisations are material to decisions. This reduces the scope for challenge over which iteration of the examination material was certified. (infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk)
For the applicant, contractors and advisers, the order provides a single source of truth for tender documentation and construction quality plans. Aligning design deliverables to the certified drainage strategy and the certified LVIA figures should be treated as a compliance requirement, not a preference. Project document registers and drawing transmittals should be updated so the certified references appear consistently across method statements, design codes and maintenance manuals.
The Planning Act 2008 framework allows these targeted corrections only when requested within the ‘relevant period’ and after notifying the local planning authorities. Corrections do not reopen the merits of the decision; rather, the original order continues in force but is treated as corrected from the date of the correction notice. This ensures legal certainty without re-running the consent process. (publications.parliament.uk)
For context, the Stonestreet Green Solar Order 2025 was made in October 2025 and came into force in November 2025; the 2026 correction instrument operates against that consent to rectify the certified document list. Practitioners tracking the file should read the correction alongside the Secretary of State’s 23 October 2025 decision notice and the project’s examination library to understand how the certified schedule now maps to the documents used at examination. (vlex.co.uk)