Councillors react to High Court defeat in battle to stop UK’s biggest solar farm
Lincolnshire councils’ attempt to stop a massive solar project has been defeated at the High Court, with campaigners saying the result is “disappointing”.
Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council had sought a Judicial Review over Springwell solar farm, which would have challenged the government’s decision to approve it.
The 800MW project is the biggest currently approved in the UK, and would cover the equivalent of 1,700 football pitches near Scopwick, Metheringham and Navenby, near Sleaford.
The councils had argued that ministers had failed to consider the impact on rural villages and landscapes, or the joint impact of similar projects in the area.
The claim was rejected at the High Court on Wednesday (November 11), meaning it won’t proceed to a full hearing.
It was hoped that success could have deterred other ‘nationally significant’ solar farms from using Lincolnshire’s agricultural land.
Councillor Marianne Overton, leader of the Cliff Villages Solar Action Group, was in the London courtroom to hear the result.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It was disappointing – I felt we had a strong case and it could have gone either way.
“I’m not sure the court fully understood the impact on food security and agriculture in Lincolnshire. It can’t just be assessed just by looking at the quality of the land.
“I felt we made a good point on it not having a grid connection ready. Andy Burnham recently said we don’t want massive renewable energy projects coming forward without grid connections, which is the case for many of these.”
She added: “There’s a lot of battles still to go,” – in particular the proposed National Grid substation at Navenby, which the Springwell solar farm would rely on.
Coun Sean Matthews, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The impact of this development won’t be felt in London, where all these decisions have been made. Rather, residents across dozens of rural communities now face the likelihood of huge industrial solar farms appearing on their doorstep.
“Despite the outcome, we firmly believe that standing up for our communities is the right thing to do.
“Our advice suggested that we had a good opportunity to have our claim heard at a full hearing. The courts disagreed.
“With no other way to meaningfully challenge the decision regarding the UK’s largest solar farm, it was a risk we needed to take to stand up to the ongoing industrialisation of Lincolnshire’s countryside.”
Coun Richard Wright, leader of North Kesteven District Council, said: “We are naturally deeply disappointed that the court has today dismissed our request to move forward with a Judicial Review into the Government’s approval of the UK’s largest solar farm within our area.
“Both North Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire County Council argued strongly during the planning process, against the development, saying that it did not properly assess the impacts on affected rural villages and landscapes, or adequately take onto account the cumulative impact of developments in Lincolnshire, which continue to use large amounts of the best and most versatile agricultural land.
“I have no regrets in raising our concerns on this issue with the court. It is not a decision that we took lightly and it was done following legal advice and a careful consideration of the potential costs and impact. We felt that we had grounds to challenge the decision, believing that proper process was not followed, and it was important for this to be tested.”
Ed Miliband – the energy secretary at the time – approved the solar farm in April, saying its potentialto power 180,000 homes was much-needed.
The Springwell solar farm project and Lincolnshire County Council have been approached for comment.
The project is being developed by EDF power solutions and Luminous Energy.