Campaigners lose ‘David and Goliath’ battle to stop West Burton solar farm

The 7000 Acres group oppose Lincolnshire solar farms (From left: Dorne Johnson, Jerry Parker, Simon Skelton, Liz Garbutt, Jamie Allan, Tony Cort)
-Credit:Lincolnshire Live


A controversial Lincolnshire solar farm which could power 144,000 homes has been given the green light by the government. The West Burton solar farm will cover 2,550 acres of land around the West Lindsey villages of Marton, Sturton-on-Stow and Saxilby.

It is the third major solar project to be given approval by the new government. Developer Island Green Power says the West Burton plans would generate much-needed renewable energy, and preventing the release of greenhouse gases.

However campaigners say that thousands of acres of farmland has now been lost in a six-mile radius to a cluster of solar farms in West Lindsey.

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Simon Skelton from the 7000 Acres campaign group - which took their name from the amount of land originally under threat - said: "The Examining Authority doesn’t seem to have listened to residents’ concerns.

"They say in their report it will have little impact - we think it will have a great impact. The inspectors seem more concerned about the deer park at Sturton than the humans who live there.

The West Burton farm has been given approval
The West Burton farm has been given approval -Credit:Island Green Power

"We expected to get somewhere, but we've got nowhere - it seems the naysayers who thought this was a done deal were right. There's been no compromise with residents."

All three of the major projects the group was set up to oppose - Gate Burton, Cottam and West Burton - have now been approved, with more emerging since.

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Simon added: "We'll keep fighting on, but it seems like we've failed in West Lindsey. We will have to keep working on a county level, as there are many more in the pipeline. It's a real David versus Goliath battle."

The projects are so large they are deemed 'nationally significant', and were sent to the government for approval, rather than the local council. The final decision was made by Secretary of State for Energy Ed Miliband.

A letter published says "the public benefits associated with the Proposed Development outweigh the harms identified, and that development consent should therefore be granted."

Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh has previously spoken out against the applications, saying: "Our part of England is under assault from serious of solar."