We are grateful for the many community benefit suggestions that you made at the first phase of consultation, which are all now being carefully considered.  

Suggestions included:  

• Rooftop solar installations  

• Playground and sports facility improvements  

• Educational programmes for young people  

• Improvements to street lighting and existing footpaths  

We are continuing to investigate potential community benefit initiatives we could support during the lifespan of the Project including funding for local groups such as community sports clubs and provision of rooftop/domestic solar, in line with the suggestions set out above.  

Such proposals would be additional to those matters within our application that will deliver benefits to the community, including:  

• The proposals in our Outline Environmental Masterplan, including improving access to and within green spaces and areas of interest, including exploring options to create new permissive paths.  

• Producing an outline Skills, Supply Chain, and Employment Plan as part of our DCO application, which will explore opportunities focussing on local recruitment and procurement, and supporting local education and skills uplifting.  

We are also exploring how a community benefit package could be managed for the Project. We are in discussions with organisations such as Two Ridings Community Foundation to understand how best a fund can be managed and implemented. Any fund will be managed independently from the Project to ensure that the funds work best for local people.  

We recognise that there is no firm guidance on community benefits and levels of funding at this stage, although acknowledge the Government’s on-going consultation on the potential imposition of a mandatory community benefit system. This aspect of our proposals for the project will therefore continue to evolve, both in response to industry/Government-level guidance and your suggestions.