Councils withdraw from solar farm legal action

Four councils had planned to take legal action against Sunnica Energy Farm, but the challenge will no longer go ahead

A legal challenge against an approved solar farm project will end after two councils withdrew from the action.

The 2,500-acre Sunnica Energy Farm on the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border was approved last month by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband.

Suffolk County Council, West Suffolk Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council had planned to undertake a judicial review proceeding against the plans.

However West Suffolk Council and Cambridgeshire County Council chose to withdraw from the process, which resulted in the remaining councils deciding to not continue with the action.

According to Suffolk County Council, the two remaining councils did want to continue with the challenge as the cost of the legal fees versus the financial return "was no longer a justifiable use of public funds".

Richard Rout, the deputy cabinet member for nationally significant infrastructure projects at the council, said the authority was "deeply disappointed".

"The Sunnica Energy Farm was approved by the new government against the recommendation of the independent Planning Inspectorate, who said it should be thrown out," he said.

"In pulling out of this challenge, the two councils have demonstrated they are intent on serving the interests of the government over the interests of local communities and taxpayers."

Anna Bailey, the leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, added she felt the move was a "waste" and a "let down" for local residents.

"There is still a long way to go with this application and the developer still has a huge mountain to climb before they send in the diggers to the food production fields of rural east Cambridgeshire and Suffolk," she said.

"East Cambridgeshire District Council will work to do all it can to mitigate the impact of this development, secure local benefits and to stand by its residents."

West Suffolk Council said it would have other ways to raise concerns over the project with the government as well as seeking financial support from the applicant

Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, said the legal challenge was not about "whether Sunnica would go ahead or not", but rather a "technical matter relating to the fees" the councils would receive for "managing the planning process".

"The government and applicant did not accept our initial request to amend the fees, and the legal advice we had was that while there was a chance of success in a costly judicial review, the end result could well be the same," he explained.

"This is because the government would then have the option to redetermine the application using the same lower level of fees which, in its response to our legal letter, it has already told us it believes are appropriate for schemes of this nature."

Mr Waterman added that there was nothing to stop the other councils from challenging the fees through the courts.

"For our part, we do not believe this is a good use of scarce taxpayers’ money," he added.

"West Suffolk Council will concentrate on working within our powers to make sure the development is managed to the best of our ability for our communities."

Cambridgeshire County Council said its decision to withdraw from the action was made after it took into account previous legal advice as well as "the importance of offering value for money to our taxpayers and the low likelihood of a challenge succeeding".

Net zero aims

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero previously said it would not comment on a live planning case.

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

At the time of the approval, Sunnica said it was "immensely pleased" it could go ahead with the plan.

The farm could power 172,000 homes and create 1,500 jobs during construction, as well as 27 full-time jobs once the site is operational, the company has said.

A separate fundraiser from the council's action has seen £13,710 raised to help challenge the plans.

The organisers of the fundraiser said they strived to protect the environment across both counties.