Hartlepool Council Defeat as Solar Powered EV Forecourt Appeal Is Allowed...

The Plans put forward by 'Gridserve' Which have been granted approval by the planning inspectorate

Hartlepool Councillors Found to have Ignored Their Own Experts – As the Governments Planning Inspector Steps In... & APPROVES the plans.....

13th December 2025

A Government Planning Inspector has overturned Hartlepool Borough Council’s decision to refuse permission for the construction of a major solar energy development at Whelly Hill Farm, instead, granting full planning permission following an appeal by Gridserve Sustainable Energy Ltd.

In a decision published on the 27th November 2025, Government Planning Inspector L N Hughes concluded that Hartlepool Borough Council’s refusal to approve the plans was based solely on alleged highway safety concerns & was not supported by evidence, with the inspector allowing the appeal in full.

What's Been Approved...

Whelly Hill Farm, on the outskirts of Hartlepool

The development includes A Solar Electric Forecourt accessed from the A179, featuring electric vehicle charging points and an ancillary customer building. The plans also include a wider solar PV farm and battery storage facility covering around 87 hectares, with a maximum generation capacity of 49.9MW, & a 40-year operational limit.

Why the Council Lost the Appeal...

In his report, The Inspector found that Neither the Highway Authority nor National Highways objected to the scheme, with accident data relied on by Hartlepool Borough Council showed only one slight injury collision near the proposed access area in the last five years, which did not indicate a safety problem. The Transport Assessment Report also demonstrated the site would mainly serve passing traffic, & not generate any significant new vehicle movements, with Councillors failing to explain why they rejected their own officers’ advice and technical evidence.

The Inspector was also clear that it is not the role of the appeal process to redesign schemes or consider speculative alternative access points when no harm has been demonstrated further strengthening the case of the developers.

Environmental and Landscape Impact

Concerns about landscape impact, wildlife, agricultural land, and cumulative effects were all dismissed. With Natural England reportedly confirming the development would have no adverse impact on protected coastal sites, and extensive landscaping and biodiversity measures were secured by condition.

Despite no application for the developers costs to be reimbursed by the local borough council as far as the Teesside & Durham post understands, The decision highlights another instance where Hartlepool Borough Council’s planning refusal has been overturned on appeal to the Government, raising serious questions about the robustness of committee-level decision-making. The scheme is reportedly said to be subject to no less than 30 planning conditions, covering highways, construction, ecology, and eventual decommissioning.

The Inspector concluded that the proposal complies with the development plan as a whole and that there was no lawful basis to refuse it.