Suffolk County Council has announced plans to challenge the government’s approval of a £600 million solar farm project.
Sunnica received permission to develop a site over 2,400 acres with more than 50MW of solar energy and battery storage.
The council has written a pre-action protocol letter to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband following his decision to approve the Sunnica solar farm on the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border.
Cambridgeshire County Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Suffolk County Council and West Suffolk Council have agreed to send a legal letter, expressing their concern that Sunnica developers might avoid covering the costs their plans for the UK’s largest solar farm will place on local authorities.
Councillor Lorna Dupre, Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Environment and Green Investment Committee voiced concerns over the impact on residents, businesses and the local environment.
Ms Dupre said: “The prospect of this huge development is of deep concern to those of us in East Cambridgeshire.
“Furthermore, an error within the planning approval has not accounted for the extensive technical and administrative input needed from the four local authorities affected by Sunnica’s proposals.
“This means that local people could not only face development all around them but could also be asked to pick up the tab for developers’ ambitions.”
Councillor Mark Goldsack, a local member for Soham North and Isleham, said: “We have been shocked by the Secretary of State’s decision to grant permission for Sunnica and the developer’s ambitions for an industrial scale energy farm spread across such vast swathes of our countryside.”
Energy Live News has contacted the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for comment – the Department said it would not comment on a live planning case.
Energy Live News has contacted the developer behind Sunnica for comment.
