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High Court denies Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council opportunity for full hearing on Springwell Solar Farm approval.
Following deliberation, the High Court has ruled that the approval of Springwell Solar Farm will not be scrutinised at a substantive judicial review hearing.
Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council brought nine grounds of challenge against Springwell’s approval.
Five of these related to the Navenby Substation. The Government’s Inspector insisted that a requirement for planning consent was necessary to make a development acceptable, but the Secretary of State removed this from the approved Development Consent Order for Springwell Solar Farm.
The Judge recognised the councils concerns that this could result in solar development with no guarantee that there would be a substation in place to connect the power to the grid.
However, none of these grounds were considered arguable as the Judge concluded that National Policy Statements set out the importance and urgency of critical national infrastructure.
Other grounds related to food security, which the councils argued had been underplayed in the decision-making process by the Secretary of State.
At the preliminary hearing, the councils also highlighted that there was no information relating to food security impacts in Springwell’s Environmental Statement.
The Judge ruled that all the councils’ grounds relating to food security were not arguable, as the Secretary of State was entitled to give limited weight in his decision, and the Planning Inspectorate had not requested the specific information to be included in an Environmental Statement.
After hearing and dismissing the councils’ nine challenges on these points, the Judge dismissed the Councils claim for judicial review of this decision
It is a blow for residents, Lincolnshire County Council and North Kesteven District Council who now have no realistic routes left to challenge what will be the UK’s largest solar farm.
Cllr Sean Matthews, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Given the size of this development, I’m disappointed that our councils will not have the opportunity to present a case at a full hearing.
“The impact of this development won’t be felt in London, where all these decisions have been made. Rather, residents across dozens of rural communities now face the likelihood of huge industrial solar farms appearing on their doorstep.
Cllr Richard Wright, Leader of North Kesteven District Council, said: “We are naturally deeply disappointed that the court has today dismissed our request to move forward with a Judicial Review into the Government’s approval of the UK’s largest solar farm within our area.
“Both North Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire County Council argued strongly during the planning process, against the development, saying that it did not properly assess the impacts on affected rural villages and landscapes, or adequately take onto account the cumulative impact of developments in Lincolnshire, which continue to use large amounts of the best and most versatile agricultural land.
“It was our case to the courts that through the Examining Authority’s report and Secretary of State’s decision letter, proper process was not followed and the decision was unsound.”
“I have no regrets in raising our concerns on this issue with the court. It is not a decision that we took lightly and it was done,  following legal advice and a careful consideration of the potential costs and impact. We felt that we had grounds to challenge the decision, believing that proper process was not followed, and it was important for this to be tested.
“It was a course of action we pursued with our communities foremost in our minds, and while I am disappointed at the outcome, I am pleased that we stood up for them in this way.”
Cllr Sean Matthews continued: “Despite the outcome, we firmly believe that standing up for our communities is the right thing to do.
“Our advice suggested that we had a good opportunity to have our claim heard at a full hearing. The courts disagreed.
“With no other way to meaningfully challenge the decision regarding the UK’s largest solar farm, it was a risk we needed to take to stand up to the ongoing industrialisation of Lincolnshire’s countryside.
Published: 13th November 2026
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