West Suffolk Council on Sunnica legal challenge collapsing

West Suffolk Council had a number of concerns about the Sunnica planning application and called on the previous government to refuse the application.

The previous government announced deadlines for its decision in September 2023, December 2023, March 2024, and June 2024. We will never know whether it could or would have been decided differently, only that after a year on a half on a government minister’s desk, no decision had been announced.

Let’s be clear - they had four opportunities to refuse the application. But they did not.

After the decision was finally made in July this year, West Suffolk Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Suffolk County Council all took legal advice as to whether there were any grounds to challenge the decision.

The Sunnica project has proved controversial, with former West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock among those opposed to it (Image: Newsquest)

The advice we received was that there were no grounds under which the Sunnica decision could be quashed. 

We, and the other councils did, however, challenge the level of planning fees that Sunnica must pay so that we have the resources to ensure compliance.

It’s a technical point of law which would not have changed the Sunnica decision itself. Sunnica will still go ahead and the political opportunism that has taken place on this has been very misleading.

The government and applicant did not accept our request to amend the fees and the legal advice we had was that, even if we pursued a costly judicial review on the point of fees, the end result could well be the same.

There are also other ways to raise our concerns with the government as well as seek financial support from the applicant without risking taxpayers’ precious money.

That’s why after careful consideration, West Suffolk Council decided it will not take part in any further legal proceedings on this matter. Instead, we will be working to resolve these technical issues with the government and the company.

This decision did not prevent other councils pursuing the courage of their own convictions, even if they had received the same advice as us. 

And nor did it represent a change of policy or approach on Sunnica by West Suffolk Council, which has also been alleged.

It was a judgement call, on a deadline outside of our control, on whether to continue a costly legal challenge on a point of law that would have had no bearing on Sunnica going ahead or not, and which we had been advised might ultimately achieve no change in any event. 

So where does that leave us now?

The reality is Sunnica is going to happen, and no amount of political posturing and flexing of muscles will change that.

The time for standing against it has been and gone. We can look anyone in the eye and say that West Suffolk Council did everything within its powers to oppose the scheme.

There has also been a lot of focus over the last week on my own opinion as Leader of West Suffolk Council. 

The most helpful and honest thing I can do now as leader of West Suffolk Council is to accept that reality and work to achieve the best outcome for the communities we serve.

Do I still believe Sunnica should be paying more planning fees? Absolutely. Are we at West Suffolk prepared to gamble taxpayers’ money on a legal challenge we’ve been told that the Secretary of State can ignore even if we are successful? Absolutely not.

Do I personally oppose Sunnica?  I understand the concerns raised by residents and the council, and respect and have honoured the council’s decision to explore every avenue to challenge it.

On a purely personal level, I can see there are also potential benefits, not least greater energy security for the UK and local communities as well as cleaner energy helping our environment. But ultimately my personal views are not important. The decision on Sunnica has been taken and we need to make the best of it together. 

I see that, in deciding to drop their own legal challenge, for similar pragmatic reasons as West Suffolk Council, the Say NO to Sunnica action group have said they are going to direct their efforts to ensuring the Consent Order is properly implemented.

West Suffolk Council and I as its Leader stand ready to work with them on this important task and I hope that all local politicians will join us.

So, let’s put silly party-political squabble aside. Working together we can get the best outcomes for our area and our communities. We can be part of the economic renewal of the country. And surely that’s what we all want now?