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Kingsway Solar Farm Ltd has withdrawn its Development Consent Order (DCO) application for a huge 500-megawatt solar farm in the Cambridgeshire countryside – but it has not abandoned the controversial plans.
Instead, the company plans to resubmit its application after addressing “key issues and information requirements”.
The company said its decision to withdraw plans for the solar farm, which could provide power for about 175,000 homes annually, followed “discussion with the Planning Inspectorate”, which would have examined the application.
It follows the Cambridge Independent’s report last week on how the consultation carried out by the company had been heavily criticised by planners at both East Cambridgeshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council for lacking detail and key information.
Kingsway Solar Farm is proposed for 3,000 acres of farmland between Burwell and Balsham, with 15km of overhead lines between Brinkley and Burwell, and pylons every 300 metres or so.
Communities in the area have argued it will industrialise the countryside and have objected to the scale of the proposals.
After withdrawing its DCO application, Kingsway Solar Farm Limited said it “remains determined to deliver the best possible project which considers all the potential impacts as effectively as possible”.
Its statement continued: “We intend to work with the Planning Inspectorate and key stakeholders to understand and address key issues and information requirements, in order to bring forward the strongest possible proposals for this critical national project. The intention is to resubmit the DCO Application once these issues have been reviewed and appropriately addressed, and a timeline for that will be provided to all stakeholders as soon as possible.”
The company argues the solar farm would make “a significant contribution towards increasing national energy security” and it is designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).
David Vernon, head of NSIP Projects at Kingsway Solar Farm Ltd, said: “Kingsway Solar is a project designed to address national need for home grown, affordable, clean and reliable energy. We have been working extremely hard over the last few years to develop our proposals and bring forward a high quality scheme that meets those objectives while managing any impacts to the greatest degree possible.
“We intend to re-engage with stakeholders and are committed to addressing any outstanding issues and strengthen our proposals. We look forward to working with local and national stakeholders in the coming weeks as we look to resubmit our DCO Application in due course.
“I appreciate everyone’s patience and continued engagement as we go through this next phase.”
The scheme would require co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS) and inter-array connections to link together the parcels of land on which the solar panels would be located.
Nick Acklam, a Reach parish councillor who has been involved in community objections to the scheme, was pleased by news of the withdrawal.
“I suspect that consensus among statutory consultees that the proposal was poorly constructed and consultation over its plans was inadequate will be factors. The strength of community opposition will have been another consideration,” he said.
“Of course this does not mean that Kingsway has gone away – it could resubmit a revised application in the future but there is no doubting that this is good news for the 21 parishes that would have been damaged by the proposal and evidence that sensible, well-organised and well-argued community action can work.”
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