Purpose

This decision relates to a Development Consent Order made by the Secretary of State (SoS) under the 2008 Planning Act granting permission for the construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of ground mounted solar energy park covering an area of approximately 1,280ha that would produce 800MW of energy to be transferred to a proposed National Grid substation at Navenby.

An application for this development was made in November 2024 and the examination in public commenced in May 2025 which ran for 6 months, following which the Examining Authority (ExA), appointed by the SoS, prepared a recommendation report. The SoS then had a further 3 months to make the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent. The SoS made a decision to grant consent for the development on 8 April 2026.

The Council, as a host authority, is a statutory consultee in the development consent order process and is able to submit a Local Impact Report (LIR) and Written Representations (WR) to the ExA, which are a material consideration in the decision process. The Council submitted a LIR and WR in June 2025 following approval by the Planning and Regulation committee. The Council raised a number of objections to the proposal, citing its potential effects on landscape character and visual amenity, the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land, impacts on heritage assets, and concerns regarding the management of solar waste. In addition, concerns were expressed about the lack of certainty around the proposed grid connection, which is dependent on the delivery of a new substation by National Grid at Navenby. The SoS’s decision raises a number of issues and following legal advice it is recommended that the Council proceeds to Stage 1 of the judicial review process and challenges the decision based on a number of identified grounds

Decision

To approve the issuing of a Pre-Action Protocol Letter (Stage 1 of the judicial review process) in relation to the decision granting a Development Consent Order for the Springwell Solar Farm.

Alternative options considered

To not challenge the decision