Council challenges Sleaford Beacon Fen solar farm approval

A Reform UK government would try to prevent solar farms from connecting to the national grid, the party's deputy leader said.

Richard Tice, MP for Boston and Skegness, spoke as Lincolnshire County Council said it had launched a judicial review of a decision to approve a solar farm in the county.

The authority said the impact of the Beacon Fen Energy Park near Sleaford, which was approved by the government in August, may not have been fully considered.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said the climate crisis was the biggest threat to agriculture and nature, and solar was among the cheapest and quickest forms of energy to build.

The Beacon Fen solar farm will be capable of powering up to 130,000 homes.

In August, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said there was an "urgent need" for the proposed development.

At a press conference on Friday, Tice said: "I'm announcing that a Reform government, very quickly after an election, will do all we possibly can legislatively to stop the national grid from connecting up these solar farms.

"So, my message to these overseas investors, caveat emptor [buyer beware]: you might lose all your dough, think very seriously about this."

County council leader Sean Matthews said the judicial review could cost up to £300,000, but he thought the authority had a good chance of winning.

The council said it had raised concerns throughout the planning process that insufficient weight may have been given to the impact of the development on communities, farmland and the cumulative effects of several other major solar developments in Lincolnshire.

"I will do what I can to stop these crazy solar farms, and I will do everything that I can to achieve that," Matthews said.

"And yes, if that means opposing all of these and putting judicial review against all of the solar farms that we've been told we're getting, then I will do that," he said.

In May, Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council launched a claim for a judicial review to the High Court over the government's decision to approve plans for Springwell Solar Farm , between Lincoln and Sleaford.

Judicial reviews are court proceedings which look into the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary says.

A government spokesperson said it would not comment on individual projects, but all solar farms were subject to a rigorous planning process in which the views and interests of local communities were considered. This included any impact on biodiversity, visual amenity, or the natural environment.

"We continue to work with NESO [National Energy System Operator] on delivering the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) which will set out a strategy for how new infrastructure should be spread across the country," the spokesperson said.

The BBC has contacted Beacon Fen Energy Park for comment.

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