Campaigner welcomes solar farm plan withdrawal

Plans for an enormous solar farm which have since been withdrawn were "poorly conceived and badly designed", according to the chair of a community group.

Kingsway Solar Farm, a proposal likened to the size of Heathrow Airport, was set to cover more than 3,000 acres of farmland in East and South Cambridgeshire, and hoped to power up to 175,000 homes.

However, amid concerns from local residents and councils, it emerged on Wednesday that those behind the proposals had withdrawn the application, but had plans to resubmit.

Tony Day, chair of Kingsway Solar Community Action, said: "We hope this is the beginning of [the] end for Kingsway."

Residents feared the solar farm could "envelop" the villages of Balsham, West Wratting, Weston Colville and Weston Green.

The solar farm had been classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), meaning Energy Secretary Ed Miliband would have had the final say.

But councils raised concerns about the consultation process, with South Cambridgeshire District Council's planning director stating it "made it difficult to develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of the likely significant effects".

Kingsway Solar Farm Limited wrote to the Planning Inspectorate to withdraw the application, but in a statement said it was "determined to deliver the best possible project which considers all the potential impacts as effectively as possible".

Reacting to the withdrawal, Day said: "This is welcome news, although Kingsway suggest that they plan to resubmit.

"But this confirms our conviction that this proposal has been poorly conceived and badly designed."

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