Suffolk County Council has today published its concerns over plans for a large solar farm in West Suffolk and East Cambridgeshire.
Cabinet papers released today state that plans for the 2,792 acre Sunnica solar farm project are unacceptable in their current form. The paper claims it is impossible for the Government to fully evaluate the significance and degree of the impact of the site because several key assessments are inadequate. A link to the papers can be found on the committee minutes page.
Plans to build the Sunnica solar farm are currently with the Planning Inspectorate for examination. In time, the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy who will, ultimately, be responsible for making the final decision. The recommendations made in this Cabinet paper, if agreed, will form part of Suffolk County Council’s initial submission to the Planning Inspectorate.
Councillor Richard Rout, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Environment at Suffolk County Council, said:
“Suffolk County Council is totally committed to renewable energy and it plays a key role in our climate change pledge.
“However, this commitment cannot come at any cost. Each project must be reasoned and considered. We will always examine the scale of the project and the impact it may have on those who live nearby.
“Unfortunately, we cannot support this solar farm because the size of the development hasn’t been justified and the fact that the planning application is seriously flawed. Amongst many things, it fails to assess the full range of harm to the landscape and surrounding area. If consented, Sunnica will permanently change the character of a unique part of Suffolk which has been shaped by agriculture and horse racing.”
The examination by the Planning Inspectorate is expected to begin in spring 2022 and last for six months, following which a recommendation will be made to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Secretary of State is expected to make a decision around spring 2023.
Suffolk County Council is a statutory consultee, along with West Suffolk Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council.
Along with overall concerns about the scale of the development, the council raises these key issues to be addressed by the developer:
- Landscape and visual amenity: The council expects the developer to provide a more thorough presentation of key areas of impact, and to work with the local authorities to reduce these impacts and propose more ambitious mitigation proposals
- Transport and access: The submitted material is not acceptable, with the assessments being seriously flawed. There needs to be credible evidence of impact and required mitigation
- Socio-economics and land use: The submitted workforce modelling is unsound as a basis for the Outline Skills, Supply Chain and Employment Plan. Contrary to the applicant’s assessments, the Council does not anticipate employment and socio-economic benefits of any significance
- Community impacts: A project of the scale and nature proposed will change the character of an area which has been shaped by a unique combination of agriculture and horse racing. The Environmental Statement does not recognise this
- Ecology and nature Conservation: The council requires that existing gaps in the assessments are closed.
The Cabinet papers also highlight the risk posed to council resources if the applicant does not provide a fair funding deal. Local councils are usually funded by developers to provide feedback on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, but the applicant has not agreed to fully pay the council’s costs.
This paper will be discussed by Cabinet on March 1.
