Impact of Mallard Pass solar development considered by South Kesteven District Council planners

Fears that the UK’s largest solar power generation scheme would have ‘no end date’ will be raised in a report.

Members of South Kesteven District Council will not decide whether or not the Mallard Pass project receives permission to install solar panels within a 2,000-acre site, 800 acres of which is in Lincolnshire and the rest across the border in Rutland.

But they can submit a ‘local impact report’ to the national planning inspectorate, which has the power to grant or deny it.

Members of the council’s planning committee heard on Thursday last week (June 15), that Mallard Pass could have positive effects, but council officers had already concluded “there is uncertainty about how the overarching positive impacts will benefit members of the local community”.

In the draft local impact report that was the focus of the meeting, officers had also identified negative impacts, including loss of high-quality agricultural land, effects on landscape and the look of the area, effects on public footpaths, and disruption to the community during the installation of the panels and cabling.

The committee members also heard from the council’s planning expert Phil Jordan, who said the development would be “on an unparalleled scale in our rural area” and that because the lifespan of the solar development was not set out, the impact of the whole scheme was “difficult to quantify, which causes uncertainty for the local community”.

Those closest to the scheme live in Carlby, Careby, Braceborough, Uffington and Greatford in Lincolnshire, and in Essendine, Ryhall and Pickworth in Rutland.

Coun Rosemary Trollope-Bellew (Con – Casewick) is ward councillor for villages including Uffington and Greatford.

Like Mr Jordan, she highlighted the lack of ‘end date’ for the scheme, adding: “Should we not be encouraging the inclusion of solar panels on the roof of new builds?”

Fellow ward councillor Vanessa Smith (Green – Casewick) called Mallard Pass “the industrialisation of our green fields” and voiced concern about heavy vehicles using the area’s single-track lanes during the construction phase.

Sue Holloway, chairperson of the Mallard Pass Action Group, spoke eloquently about the scale and context of the proposed scheme, describing it as two-thirds the size of Rutland Water and ten times larger than any existing solar farm.

Highlighting that eight villages are adjacent to the proposed site, she asserted the “unnatural environment” would bring “no pleasure for the wellbeing of people”.

Developers Windel Energy and Canadian Solar say Mallard Pass would power 92,000 homes. According to the 2021 census, there are about 143,000 people living in South Kesteven and about 41,000 people living in Rutland.

Following the planning meeting, South Kesteven District Council will revise the wording of its draft local impact report before it is sent to be read by the planning inspectorate .

The planning inspectorate’s examination of the evidence for and against Mallard Pass has begun, with further hearings scheduled in July and September. A decision will then be published.