Council formally submits call for a judicial review to High Court over major solar farm decision
Lincolnshire County Council has now formally submitted its claim for a judicial review on the Government’s approval of the major Springwell Solar Farm.
On Wednesday April 8, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero approved plans for Springwell Solar Farm, on land between Sleaford and Lincoln, exercising his powers due to the size and scale of the project.
The application, by EDF Power Solutions UK and UK-based developer Luminous Energy, would cover 1,280 hectares of land near around Scopwick and Ashby de la Launde in North Kesteven and would be the UK’s largest solar farm to date.
During the application process, officers and councillors from Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council strongly argued against the development.
They cited that the application did not properly assess the impacts on rural villages and landscapes or adequately consider the cumulative impact of developments in Lincolnshire, which, they say, are using some of the best and most versatile agricultural land in the country.
In April, lawyers acting on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council issued the Government and Springwell Energy Farm Ltd. with a ‘letter before action’, the first step towards a judicial review.
With the claim now formally submitted, a judge will consider this and decide whether there are arguable grounds for the claim to proceed beyond the permission stage to a full hearing.
Coun Sean Matthews, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “This is an important milestone in our journey towards a judicial review, marking the first contact with the High Court regarding this case.
“As this now progresses to a live legal issue, we’ll not be offering a running commentary on proceedings but will instead be fully focused on supporting our legal team so that we have the best opportunity for a positive outcome in this case.”
Coun Richard Wright, Leader of North Kesteven District Council, said: “It is our view, from reading the Secretary of State’s published decision, that decisions and comments had been made that are contrary to what we believe to be sound decision-making and that these should be challenged, not only for this decision, but also with a mind to the fact that we still have other outstanding Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project proposals and applications across the wider area. That is why together the county and district councils are taking this action, on nine points.
“It is important that people know that this will come at a cost, which we will share, but to not take this action was not considered to be in the interests of our residents.”