'It needs to be stopped' - Hancock on the march against Newmarket solar farm

Newmarket MP Matt Hancock is to front a march next month against controversial plans to put a solar farm on the Cambridgeshire/ Suffolk border which would impact on some of the town’s most famous training grounds.

The former health secretary has joined the fight to stop developers Sunnica putting solar panels across 2,800 acres of largely arable land, the size of 2,115 football pitches, which would make it the biggest such installation in Britain.

As well as Hancock and South East Cambridgeshire MP Lucy Frazer, racing bodies such as the Jockey Club, Tattersalls and Godolphin are already opposed to the plans, which were criticised last week by Suffolk County Council.

The plan for the proposed Sunnica Energy solar farm

Hancock said: "My view is that Sunnica have tried to hide the fact this is a massive battery farm with all the dangers that come from that. It's been very badly done and needs to be stopped.

"I'm a big supporter of solar energy and I've supported solar farms in my constituency when they're in the right place but this is like a horseshoe around several villages which will turn them from rural settlements into semi-industrial zones."

One section of the farm would border training grounds such as the Limekilns and Railwayland as well as Godolphin's Chippenham Hill facility.

Hancock added: "There would be significant impact on Newmarket itself as one section is directly opposite the Limekilns, which is one of the most famous training grounds in the world and one of the reasons that Newmarket is pre-eminent as a Flat racing centre, which is incredibly important."

The Say No To Sunnica action group was first formed in 2020 and Hancock is to join a march on March 20 from Mildenhall to the village of Worlington, which is one of the areas that would be surrounded by the proposed installation.

Say No To Sunnica signs are commonplace in villages around Newmarket

He said: "I will be at the front of the march and I hope we have a big turnout to show what people think about this development and how they feel they've been treated.

"All you need to know about Sunnica is that when we held a public meeting together with Lucy Frazer they didn't even bother turning up. They've treated residents with contempt all along in their high-handed, arrogant manner."

Plans to build the solar farm are currently with the planning inspectorate for examination. In time, the inspectorate will make a recommendation to the secretary of state for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy for a decision in spring 2023.

Suffolk County Council has also voiced its opposition to the plans. Councillor Richard Rout, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance and environment said: "Suffolk County Council is totally committed to renewable energy and it plays a key role in our climate change pledge.

"Unfortunately, we cannot support this solar farm because the size of the development hasn't been justified and the fact that the planning application is seriously flawed.

"Amongst many things, it fails to assess the full range of harm to the landscape and surrounding area. If consented, Sunnica will permanently change the character of a unique part of Suffolk which has been shaped by agriculture and horseracing."

A spokesperson for Sunnica said: "We are bringing forward our proposals to meet an urgent national need for new sources of renewable energy generation. Our site selection process and assessments have found the sites to be a suitable location for a solar development of this size."

Read more on this subject:

Newmarket racing community pledges to fight proposals for new solar farm

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