Legal case against Sunnica fails after West Suffolk u-turn

Judicial review proceedings from four councils against the hugely controversial solar farm  have had to be abandoned after two local authorities pulled out. 

Mr Rout said the move was reminiscent of a plot from the satirical comedy "The Thick of It" and accused Labour councillors of putting party loyalty before the interests of local voters.

Suffolk County Council, West Suffolk Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council previously started the process to launch a legal challenge against the decision to approve Sunnica Solar Farm plans for the county border. 

But West Suffolk and Cambridgeshire pulled out of the legal action.

Mr Rout, who is deputy cabinet member for major infrastructure projects at Suffolk County Council, said: "What you have is a Labour-led West Suffolk council and Cambridgeshire where Labour has a key role in the administration pulling out of the legal case.

"I don't think it's impossible that someone high up in Labour, possibly (Energy Secretary) Ed Miliband himself, got on to the leaders of those councils and they bottled it - they put their party before their voters.
"I'm 100% sure this is a political move by Labour!"

The solar farm is set to be built across four sites which will be connected underground - one near Mildenhall and West Row, another near Freckenham and Worlington and then on two other sites in East Cambridgeshire, close to Newmarket.

Protests were previously held over the plans (Image: Newsquest)

The plans were approved by new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, after Labour won the general election in July. 

Former Conservative Energy Secretary Claire Countinho had put off making a decision four times.

The four councils had joined together to pursue judicial review proceedings but it has now been revealed West Suffolk Council and Cambridgeshire County Council have chosen to withdraw from the process.

West Suffolk Council's administration is made up of the West Suffolk Progressive Alliance Grouping (Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green) and the Independents who agreed to work together under the title of West Suffolk Working Partnership. 

The leader for West Suffolk Council is Cliff Waterman, Labour, and Victor Lukaniuk, Independent, is deputy leader.

Meanwhile Cambridgeshire County Council has a joint administration of Lib Dem, Labour and Independent councillors. 

Suffolk County Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council, which are both majority-conservative, said they "remained committed to seeing through the legal challenge but were left in an impossible position to continue." 

Mr Rout added: "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.

Cllr Richard Rout (Image: Suffolk County Council)

"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." 

Ed Miliband gave the Sunnica project the green light (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA)

The councils maintain their position that the Secretary of State made a legal error, but cannot now test the case in court.

Councillor Cliff Waterman, Leader of West Suffolk Council, said: "This potential legal challenge was never about whether Sunnica would go ahead or not. It was a technical matter relating to the fees local planning authorities would receive for managing the planning process.

"The government and applicant did not accept our initial request to amend the fees and the legal advice we had was that, while there was a chance of success in a costly judicial review, the end result could well be the same. This is because the government would then have the option to redetermine the application using the same lower level of fees which, in its response to our legal letter, it has already told us it believes are appropriate for schemes of this nature. 

"These fees are an important point of law. But after careful consideration, following legal advice and given that there are other ways to raise our concerns with the government as well as seek financial support from the applicant, West Suffolk Council has decided it will not take part in any further legal proceedings on this matter.

"If other councils feel that the application or its fees should be challenged through the courts, then there is still nothing to stop them from doing this, using their own funds. For our part, we do not believe this is a good use of scarce taxpayers’ money.

"West Suffolk Council will concentrate on working within our powers to make sure the development is managed to the best of our ability for our communities."