Plans for a large solar farm spanning Doncaster and Rotherham have been criticised by John Healey, Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, who claims the developer "cut corners" during consultation. Healey argues that Green Nation, the firm behind the scheme known as Whitestone, should have held three separate consultations for its three proposed sites around Conisbrough, Ulley and Harthill with Woodall, rather than combining them into one to save costs. His intervention matters because the proposals have now moved to a pre-examination stage after Planning Inspectorate approval, beginning a lengthy planning process, and he has asked the government's chief planning inspector to review the consultation.

Green Nation rejected the criticism, saying the three areas would be linked by underground cables to a single grid connection point and must therefore be treated as one development, and that it had "gone above and beyond" on community engagement. The developer said the design had changed over two rounds of consultation, with the site reduced from an initial 3,500 acres (5.5 sq miles) and now including 458 hectares set aside for wildlife and over 14km (8.6 miles) of footpaths. The scheme is classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project requiring ministerial sign-off, and has drawn objections from Doncaster and Rotherham councils, with Rother Valley MP Jake Richards vowing to fight it "tooth and nail".