Council leader responds to solar farm plan’s pause
Solar farms ‘paused’ but North Kesteven District Council leader fears uncertainty
North Kesteven District Council has received confirmation that the Leoda Solar Farm proposal for land between Leadenham and Brant Broughton, has been paused and the current proposal withdrawn as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
News of the pause came through on Wednesday (April 29).
It is estimated that the proposed Leoda Solar Farm could power up to 143,000 homes and, since it generates over 100MW of renewable energy, is a proposal that is determined by the Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero and not North Kesteven District Council as local planning authority. NKDC is a host authority and statutory consultee in the process.
In response Coun Richard Wright, Leader of the council said: “We had noted the slippage in the original programme, in particular the fact that the statutory consultation scheduled for early 2026 had not happened and routine engagement meetings with the promoter had also stalled.
“On the one hand, the news of the promoter pausing their project, and withdrawing it from the Government’s NSIP programme, is noted and explains the absence of the anticipated consultation.
“However, on the other hand, today’s announcement has a great deal of uncertainty attached to it, since we are being told the project is being paused and not cancelled. This leaves a huge amount of uncertainty for local residents causing on-going disruption to their lives.
“We will be asking Leoda to be much clearer about their future intentions and their timescales and will share whatever information we get with local people.”
Further to the Leoda scheme there are four other solar NSIP projects or proposals currently live within the district – Heckington Fen, Springwell, Fosse Green and Beacon Fen.