Planning - Clearstone Energy

We are

Landowner led

Our projects wouldn’t happen without the support and cooperation of our landowners. We start every new project by understanding the needs of the landowner, their family, their existing business operations and their relationship with their land. That way we can work towards project designs that respect and successfully integrate with their business priorities and family life.

Our planning team has been successfully securing planning permissions for major UK infrastructure and energy projects for more than 30 years. In the first instance we use that expertise to develop a sustainable conceptual design for the project. This high level design responds to landowners needs, UK planning policy. environmental parameters and local community considerations.

The project moves through several design iterations until it identifies the best detailed solution. At the heart of the design process is our mission to deliver best practice, be a good neighbour, deliver areas for wildlife to thrive and utilise sustainable construction practices. We feedback and justify our decisions to all stakeholders to ensure all parties are well informed.

Conceptual design through to detailed consent

Pre-planning advice

In many cases we will engage in early consultation with the local planning authority. This is done either through a prescribed pre-application process or through a process designed to establish how best to assess and report the project’s likely environmental impacts. Either approach typically takes between 3-6 weeks. Proactive early engagement with Council officers helps build constructive working relationships and ensures their requirements are “baked into” the project from its outset.

Understanding the local environment

Detailed environmental surveys of the Project site and wider local area are undertaken to ensure we understand and minimise as far as possible our likely impacts on everything from archaeology, flood risk and drainage, landscape and visual impact, ecology and traffic to local amenity, including noise impacts and public footpath provisions.

We use our preferred team of trusted, technical consultants and wherever possible we seek to enhance assets and not simply mitigate impacts. These outputs from the Team inform the detailed design and ensure it is sustainable and makes a meaningful contribution to tackling climate change and a carbon free electricity network by 2035.

Consulting with the local community

Before submitting a planning application for the project we take our proposal out to the local community for their feedback. Input from local residents, community leaders and other key stakeholders is invaluable in creating a final project proposal that meets the broadest range of needs.

Making the planning application

The final stage in the design and planning process is the preparation and submission of the Project’s planning application. It will present and assess the best and final Project Proposal, submit technical reports explaining its impacts, proposed mitigations and enhancements and appraise its acceptability against the relevant planning policies and other material considerations. Our approach is to submit a thorough and robust application, that is well informed by studies and consultation and ensures that all information needed to determine the application is provided at the start.

After application submission

Once submitted we engage with the Council as it takes over the determination of the project, ensuring questions are answered and clarification provided. In the event stakeholders wish to see amendments to the scheme we will address these where we can – our door is always open. We work hard to seek to achieve an officer recommendation of approval and engage on planning conditions necessary to make the Project acceptable, leaving no stone unturned in this endeavour. If the decision is not delegated to the planning officer, we attend the Planning Committee hearing and organise site visits where required.

Find out more about our projects

Solar Energy

The UK’s energy markets have experienced turmoil and rising electricity costs since 2021, leading to a surge in rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations in 2022. Two-thirds of UK solar generation comes from large-scale projects, and solar energy is the fastest growing and lowest cost renewable energy technology.

More about Solar

Battery Storage

Battery energy storage is key for reliable renewable energy. Large scale batteries near wind and solar sites ensure a constant electricity supply. Transitioning from gas to batteries will make energy cleaner, more secure and cheaper.

More about Battery Storage

Biodiversity

Our renewable energy projects repair and improve the natural ecosystems that clean our water, purify our air, recycle nutrients and regulate our climate.

Find out more