Sunnica Energy Farm proposals near Newmarket slammed by Suffolk County Council deputy leader Richard Rout

Proposals for a 2,792 acre solar farm have been slammed by the deputy leader of Suffolk County Council.

Cllr Richard Rout told the planning inspectorate's examination authority panel the plans for the Sunnica Energy Farm near Newmarket were unacceptable, and that it is 'the poorest application' he had dealt with.

These comments came at the first hearing of the formal examination process, which involves all parties in the proposals.

Cllr Rout said: “This is the poorest application I have dealt with in over four years of having held political responsibility for overseeing the council’s response to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, such as Sizewell C, EA2 North and EA1 windfarms, major interconnector projects and the East Anglia Green pylon runs.

“The council wholly supports the need for the nation’s low carbon future, and as an authority we have our own Net Zero by 2030 ambitions.

“But I will not allow Suffolk’s communities to be pushed to one side by an application like this, which has not adequately engaged with local people and businesses, nor seemingly done its homework on the enormous impacts this solar farm will have."

Current plans would see the farm be spread over four sites in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

These include Sunnica East A, located on land north of Freckenham and south-east of Isleham, and Sunnica B, situated between Freckenham, Worlington and Red Lodge.

However, Suffolk County Council has a number of issues with the current application, including:

• The geographic scale of the proposal which will permanently transform the landscape
• The impact on local communities of the 24 month construction period
• Sunnica’s serious shortcomings in terms of both evidence and methodology
• Sunnica’s presentation of proposal which makes it, and impacts on local communities, unclear
• Mitigation proposals do not appear to be tailored to the local context

“We have seen some progress lately with the applicant, who has met with us to discuss some of the issues in more detail," added Cllr Rout.

" But it’s deeply frustrating that this has only happened recently, it should have happened a long time ago whilst preparing for this current Examination.

“There remains a very great deal of work to be done before this proposal can be considered anywhere near acceptable.”

The formal examination process of the application began in September, and is set to conclude on March 28, 2023.

A report and recommendation will then be sent to the Secretary of State, who is expected to make a final decision on the project later in 2023.