Councils withdraw from Sunnica solar farm challenge
It means judicial review proceedings will no longer be pursued
Two councils have withdrawn from the process of challenging the Sunnica solar farm project, bordering Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
West Suffolk Council and Cambridgeshire County Council's withdrawals mean judicial review proceedings will no longer be pursued, though Suffolk County Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council remain committed to "seeing through the legal challenge".
The two councils were left in a position where they could not continue as legal fees would not be a "justifiable use of pubic funds".
The loss of two out of four councils has halted the process as a whole.
Councils involved say they maintain their position that the Secretary of State made a "legal error, but cannot now test the case in court".
Councillor Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, said:
“We are deeply disappointed by West Suffolk Council and Cambridgeshire County Council choosing not to challenge the outrageous decision by the government to approve the Sunnica solar farm that spans our two counties.
“The Sunnica solar farm was approved by the new government against the recommendation of the independent Planning Inspectorate, who said it should be thrown out. 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.
“Those councils may suggest now going cap in hand to the developer but that has little chance of success. We must not forget that this is the worst scheme we have ever dealt with and the developer has, to date, shown no interest in properly meeting our costs or properly engaging with local communities.”
Councillor Anna Bailey, Leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said:
“I am unbelievably disappointed with the decisions of Cambridgeshire County Council and West Suffolk Council to pull out of the Group action. They have expended public funds, the legal position has not changed, and yet they are now refusing to finish what we started. What a waste and what a let-down for local residents.
“Now local taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill for the costs to the councils of this unwanted, appalling development; Cambridgeshire County Council and West Suffolk Council have seriously let the side down by allowing that to stand without challenge.
“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. 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.”
What does Sunnica hope to achieve?
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero granted development consent for Sunnica Energy Farm in July 2024, which the company say will "make a nationally significant contribution" to net zero emissions by 2050.
Sunnica want to build the solar farm across three different sites, including plans for building solar photovoltaic panels across several fields and each site would be connected to each other by underground cables that link to the National Grid at Burwell substation.
Sunnica Limited says the project will power 172,000 homes and create 1,500 jobs during construction.