Council forced to abandon fight against solar farm in 'unprecedented situation'
A solar farm near Sleaford will be granted permission after councillors were advised they had no hope of winning an appeal.
The project on Mareham Lane in Scredington was rejected by planners in March over concerns that the archaeology hadn’t been properly investigated.
Applicant Mareham Lane Solar Ltd appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, and was allowed to submit new evidence.
Members of North Kesteven District Council’s planning committee said they were “staggered” that it had been allowed to happen.
They were advised by officers that the case was no longer winnable, and reluctantly voted for the council to stop contesting the appeal.
The 75-acre solar farm will be able to power 15,000 homes, according to the developer.
Prehistoric, Roman and medieval discoveries have been made in the archaeologically-sensitive area before, and there was concern there could be more buried below.
A planning officer told the meeting on Tuesday (November 18) that the council was in an “unprecedented situation” of not being able to fight the appeal.
Conservative Councillor Ian Carrington said: “I am staggered that the Planning Inspectorate [accepted new evidence].
“It undermines the trust of the public in the entire planning process if rules are not the same for everyone. To use their powers in this way is extremely rare.”
However, he conceded that the authority no longer had valid planning reasons to reject the application.
“An inquiry for the appeal is very complex and expensive, involving lots of officers’ and lawyers’ time,” he said.
“To go down that when officers are advising us we don’t have a hope of winning would be folly and a waste of public money.”
A four-day public inquiry had been set for March, with a risk that the council could have ended up paying some of the costs.
Independent Councillor Mervyn Head said the outcome was “very disappointing”, and said: “I still don’t think the archaeological situation has been resolved.
“It has been a sham by the planning inspectorate, disregarding good reason for refusal.”
Conservative Councillor Jonathan Pessol said he worried this might be the “thin end of the wedge” in order to speed up the planning process and meet government housebuilding targets.
Twelve councillors voted to not contest the appeal, with one abstention.
The Planning Inspectorate has been contacted for comment.