Local authority to challenge solar farm approval

The government is approving a solar farm on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border

A council has criticised the government’s decision to approve a £600m energy farm and said it is beginning judicial review proceedings against it.

Suffolk County Council said it has written a pre-action protocol letter to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, after he approved the Sunnica solar farm on the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border last month.

The council believes Mr Miliband ignored its funding arguments and said this will amount to "considerable" additional work and costs for the Conservative-led authority.

The department for energy security and net zero said it would not comment on a live planning case.

A decision on the plans for the 2,500-acre solar farm has been delayed several times, most recently due to the UK general election.

Mr Miliband had previously said solar power was "crucial to achieving net zero".

Councillor Richard Rout, deputy cabinet member for nationally significant infrastructure projects, said that Mr Miliband had "waved through the Sunnica application with reckless abandon".

He added: “In doing so, he has shown scant regard for the communities affected, and for the local authorities who must pick up considerable amounts of additional work as a result of the project going ahead."

Nick Timothy, the Conservative MP for West Suffolk, called Mr Miliband’s decision “inappropriate” and said he is backing the council’s decision to legally challenge the approval.

"Mr Miliband made clear in his answer to my question in Parliament that he did not properly consider all the evidence in his rush to approve the application," he added.

"There are likely to be other legal challenges, and we must hope that the courts see there has been a clear failure of process."

Sunnica has been contacted for a comment.