Northamptonshire MPs pen letter to council leader asking for 'urgent' steps to push back against huge solar farm

Green Hill Solar Far was approved on October 8.

After being submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and reviewed by Secretary of State for net zero, Miatta Fahnbulleh, developer Island Green Power was given the all-clear to begin work to install the solar farm measuring almost 3,000 acres of solar power infrastructure spread across nine sites, including a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and approximately 20 miles of underground cabling construction between sites.

The letter from MPs Sarah Bool and Stuart Andrew (both Conservative) asks the North Northants Council leader to reassure constituents that the council is using ‘every legal mechanism at its disposal to protect Northamptonshire’s countryside.’

The letter reads: “Residents remain deeply concerned by the sheer scale of the proposal, the industrialisation of our countryside, the permanent loss of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land and the erosion of the historic separation between our rural villages. Our countryside cannot simply be treated as an easy target for national infrastructure targets.

"Given you have publicly and strongly criticised the government’s decision, describing it as a ‘national disgrace’, local people rightly expect all available avenues of challenge to be explored.”

Green Hill Solar Farm will spread across nine sites across the north and west Northamptonshire border, with the farm also spreading across the Daventry and South Northamptonshire constituencies.

They go on to confirm if the council has sought formal advice on possibly launching a judicial review against the decision and the urgent steps that are being taken to ensure ‘all avenues of recourse are exhausted’ before the November 19 deadline.

A similar letter was written to West Northamptonshire Council leader, Mark Arnull (Reform UK), asking whether NNC is liaising with West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to co-ordinate a response.

Under the Planning Act (2008), there is no right of appeal, however the High Court may entertain proceedings to question an order granting development consent from the day on which the Development Consent Order is published or, if later, the day on which the decision letter is published.

Legal challenges are subject to a statutory six-week deadline, which in this case close on November 19, and would allow for a judicial review to take place, which the MPs say is ‘a last line of defence’ and that residents will want to know that ‘no stone is left unturned’ by the council and local authorities.

In response, a council spokesman said: “We can confirm we are in receipt of the letter and recognise the strength of feeling amongst residents on the issue.

"We will now consider the specific points raised before confirming next steps whilst being ahead of the 19 November deadline.”

CPRE Northamptonshire (Campaign to Protect Rural England) have written a pre-action protocol letter. In it, the countryside campaign group calls the solar farm ‘oppressive’ and says it has ‘encountered no support for the scheme’, believing the ‘level of objection is an indicator of the extent of the harms that it would create.’

The campaign has been ‘working closely’ with Sarah Bool and Stuart Andrew to fight back against the project it believes is ‘uniquely harmful when compared to previously approved NSIP (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project) schemes. It also notes that the farm is ‘generally dismissive of the safety concerns relating to the scheme.’

A statement reads: "Bad decisions such as this scheme cannot go unchallenged if the balance between renewable energy and food security is to be maintained.

"We feel that the application does not fairly assess the scheme, and that the design actually creates a greater impact than assessed upon the countryside and the rural communities that live within it.”