Following the announcement by Secretary of State Ed Miliband to grant permission for the Sunnica solar farm, East Cambridgeshire District Council has taken independent legal advice to understand the chances of success of a Judicial Review of the decision-making process. 

The district council has worked closely with Suffolk County and West Suffolk councils, both of which also took their own independent legal advice; all three legal opinions are in accordance with each other.  The advice received by all three councils is that there is an opportunity for the councils to challenge the funding mechanism required to undertake the final stages of work. Therefore, the four affected councils, including Cambridgeshire County Council, have now written to the Secretary of State advising him of our challenge.

Cllr Anna Bailey said: “We are shocked that the Secretary of State has given the go ahead for this massive development on food production land in rural East Cambridgeshire and the council is now facing huge increased cost in dealing with this matter, which hasn’t been taken into account in the decision.

“It is extremely disappointing that after years of making the clear case that a solar farm of this magnitude is in the wrong place and winning that argument at the hearing, the Secretary of State decided to grant a development order against the wishes of the community, the four affected councils, and against the expert advice of the Examiner.

“There is currently no direct benefit to our communities from this site. It is deemed to have a significant impact on our communities, and there are also biodiversity concerns. Added to this, unlike other solar farms, residents will not benefit from cheaper energy, nor will the council receive any potential business rates income from the facility.

“This council is completely supportive of renewable energy. This has been demonstrated by our approval of renewable energy schemes on land outside of Burwell and Soham over the past few years.

“But it’s imperative such schemes are in the right place and are right for the communities in which they are located.”