The huge project will cover 170 agricultural fields spanning Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire
The One Earth Solar Farm will cover nearly 4,000 acres of land (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
There are “insufficient grounds” for a legal challenge against a nationally significant solar farm spanning Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
The One Earth Solar Farm and its battery storage facility will cover nearly 4,000 acres either side of the River Trent south of Dunham-on-Trent, near East Markham in Nottinghamshire.
An application was submitted to the Government earlier this year by Danish energy company Ørsted and PS Renewables, which is one of the UK’s largest renewable energy development and construction companies.
On July 8, the independent Planning Inspectorate confirmed the nationally significant infrastructure project had been granted development consent.
This was in spite of the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation that it should be turned down for a raft of reasons, including flood risk and visual impact.
A map of the One Earth Solar Farm
However, the Government went ahead and granted approval for the scheme, saying the renewable energy generated – the equivalent to powering 200,000 homes – was vital.
The huge solar park will surround the villages for the next 60 years, and will cover 170 agricultural fields spread across the Bassetlaw and Newark and Sherwood districts, and parts of Lincolnshire.
Campaigners and objecting authorities had been hoping a judicial review could help stop the development in its tracks, however Newark and Sherwood District Council said on Thursday (August 20) this would be unlikely to succeed.
Challenges can typically be made to the High Court, which then decides if there are grounds for a review.
In a statement, the authority said: “We recognise and share the frustration felt by local residents, communities, and councillors about the proposal.
“Throughout the examination process, the council made clear its concerns about the effect of the development on the landscape, the historic environment, and local communities amongst other things.
“Since the decision was issued, the council has been clear that there is no right to appeal against the decision made. The only option available to us is to consider whether to proceed with a judicial review.
“It is important to be clear that a judicial review is not a rehearing of the planning merits of the project. The court would not decide whether it agrees or disagrees with the Secretary of State’s planning judgement. It would only consider whether the decision was made lawfully.
“To assess whether this would be a viable option, further work has been carried out on issues raised at full council in May and specialist legal advice has twice been obtained from an expert legal barrister.
“The advice is that there are insufficient grounds to successfully launch a legal challenge.
“This will be bitterly disappointing news for the whole community, and, from the outset, it has felt almost impossible for us to have any meaningful influence on the One Earth Solar Farm decision.
“We urge the Secretary of State to listen to local communities and review the consent given for the site. Local voices should be heard, as should the very clearly articulated views of the Examining Authority.
“While the decision is frustrating, we will continue to engage with the process to ensure that, if the development proceeds, the requirements attached to the Development Consent Order are properly considered and that the impacts on local communities are addressed as far as possible.”
All solar farms that generate more than 50 megawatts are decided by the Government’s Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, rather than local authorities.
Since coming to power in July 2024, the Government has now approved 30 nationally significant clean energy projects.
Speaking previously, the then Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The only way to have energy security is if we take a pro-growth approach to building more clean energy in Britain. For the past two years, that is exactly what this Government has done.”