Huge solar farm stretching across 1,200 hectares in and around Northants villages 'not a slam dunk' as developers prepare for planning inspectorate

Developer Island Green Power wants to build a 500MW facility that would occupy roughly 1,200 hectares of fields across the county. The project stretches across nine sites from Milton Keynes to Walgrave, however due to the size of the scheme North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) will not have the final say on its approval.

Instead, the solar farms will be treated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and be ruled on by the Secretary of State. The developers have now indicated their intention to submit their pre-application plans to the examining authority as early as February this year.

Cllr David Brackenbury, NNC’s lead for growth and regeneration, told members at an executive meeting on Thursday: “It’s not a slam dunk- while it is true that central government have reserved this as a project of national infrastructure, it does not necessarily follow that they will automatically give planning permission and so it’s extremely important that North Northamptonshire and the other authorities involved are fully represented at all stages.”

A public consultation period ran between November and December 2024. Island Green Power says it is reviewing the feedback before submitting the project to the planning inspectorate.

On Thursday, NNC’s executive committee received a report outlining its responsibility as the site’s ‘host authority’. After submission, NNC and other local authorities will be contacted to submit representations on behalf of its communities.

The proposed nine sites will be in and around the villages of Lavendon, Bozeat, Easton Maudit, Grendon, Earls Barton, Mears Ashby and Walgrave. It is claimed by the developer that the solar farm could power more than 115,000 homes, with a lifespan of 60 years.

Cllr Jim Hakewill commented on the plans at the meeting: “Most people are opposed to covering farmland with solar panels, when warehouses and other buildings would be much less damaging to our environment and leave farmland for food production.”

Cllr Dorothy Maxwell also called the solar farm proposals a “blot” on the landscape.

“We’re not talking about a few fields, but miles of solar panels seen on the map. I hope we look at this pre-application and realise we must protect villages and towns from this massive development,” she added.

According to a timeline submitted by the developer, the Secretary of State is not expected to make a decision until late 2026. NNC members voted to give delegated permission for the council to respond to all stages of the application process in the future.

A report will be presented to the council’s South Planning Committee prior to the project’s formal submission with the planning inspectorate. The authority said regular updates on its progress will be presented at future meetings.