Land Between Thorpe Bank Solar Farm And Middlefield Solar Farm A177 Durham Road Thorpe Thewles TS21 3LF Data via plota.co.uk

26/0778/FUL - Full Application Approved

Proposal

Engineering operations including the installation of underground electricity cables and associated infrastructure to connect the consented solar farms ( and ) to the approved 132kV substation at Middlefield Farm. Data via plota.co.uk

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View original council record ↗Last checked 6 Sept 2026, 02:31

Application progress

✓

Received

22 Apr 2026

✓

Consultation

12 Jun 2026

✓

Approved

17 Jun 2026

Approved on 17 Jun 2026 · Delegated Decision · Last checked 6 Sept 2026

Documents 13

Associated applications 4

Part of

VariationApproved19 Jun 2025council archive
- FullEngineering operations including the installation of underground electricity cables…This application22 Apr 202626/0778/FUL
FullApproved28 Apr 2021council archive

Conditions 2, 12, 13, 18 varied
- Show 1 more · 1 approved
  - VariationSection 73 application to vary conditions no2 (Approved Plans), no12 (Flood Risk Assessment)…31 Mar 202626/0635/VARY

Site constraints 4

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast SPA/Ramsar

New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.

Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.

Agricultural land, grade 3a

Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.

Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.

National infrastructure project about 824 m away: Byers Gill Solar

The site is about 824 m from the project boundary. Generating station, decided. The project page says whether consent was granted. Also within 2 km: East Coast Hydrogen Teesside Pipeline (at pre-application, about 170 m).

Nationally significant infrastructure projects (power stations, electricity lines, pipelines, major roads and railways, harbours, airports and reservoirs) are consented by a Secretary of State under the Planning Act 2008, after an examination by the Planning Inspectorate, rather than by the council. The boundary is the one the Inspectorate consults on and can change as the scheme does. Projects are shown within 2 km of the site.

Planning Inspectorate project page ↗

Also on the record

Priority habitat about 9 m away: Traditional orchard.

Not affected

Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Planning Inspectorate and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council: Stockton-on-Tees
Application type: Full Application
Postcode: TS21 3JN
Received: 22 Apr 2026
Validated: 22 Apr 2026
Ward: Northern Parishes
Parish: Grindon & Thorpe Thewles Parish Council
Case officer: Show
Target decision: 17 Jun 2026
Decision: Approved with Conditions
Decision date: 17 Jun 2026
Decision level: Delegated Decision
Applicant: Show
Agent: Pegasus Group

How this decision compares

Decided in 56 days from validation, 13 days slower than Stockton-on-Tees's median of 43 for utility and infrastructure works. Approved, as 98% of utility and infrastructure works here are.

This one56d

Council43d

UK55d

86%decided within 8 weeks

98%approved

81decided in the last year

Plota live figures for utility and infrastructure works decided by Stockton-on-Tees in the last twelve months, from validation. Stockton-on-Tees decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

38 neighbours consulted · Last counted 6 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference: PP-14452595
Planning Portal ref: PP-14452595
Neighbours: 11 May 2026
Consultation: 12 Jun 2026
Comments by: 3 Jul 2026
Site or press notice: 5 May 2026
Statutory expiry: 17 Jun 2026
Env. assessment: No

Historical activity at this location

1 nearby application on record - archival context, not part of the live application.

Within ~100m

Nearby activity

2025 Approved

New House Middlefield Farm Durham Road Stockton-on-Tees TS21 3LF

Erection of annexe extension to the rear and single storey extension and porch canopy to…

25/2128/FUL 6 Jan 2026

Stockton-on-Tees

Planning Authority Score

5.8/10

Average

#112 of 296 councils

Relevant to this application:

Householder decisions

Stockton-on-Tees ranks #180 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. Householder applications are more likely to be approved here than most councils, with a 97% approval rate vs 90% nationally.

More permissive than most councils

97% approved vs 90% nationally

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance

Stockton-on-Tees decision statistics

Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026

93%

Overall approval rate

Above avg (87%) #67 of 296

97%

Householder approved

Above avg (90%) #44 of 296

61%

Decided in 8 weeks

Below avg (63%) #180 of 296

40%

Extended time limit

Below avg (41%) #155 of 296

79%

Minor dwellings approved

19 decided (1-9 homes)

82%

Major dwellings approved

11 decided (10+ homes)

86%

Change of use approved

44 decided

612

Total decisions

41 refused in the year to March 2026

Land Between Thorpe Bank Solar Farm And Middlefield Solar Farm A177 Durham Road Thorpe Thewles TS21 3LF Data via plota.co.uk

Proposal

Application progress

Documents 13

Decision & officer reports 1

Statements & assessments 5

Plans & drawings 2

Application forms 3

Consultation & comments 1

Other documents 1