Local authorities have reacted in disappointment after plans for a huge solar farm on the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border were approved by the new government.

The previous government had put off making a decision on the controversial plan five times - but new Energy Secretary Ed Miliband took just seven days to give it the go ahead.

The proposal has been hugely controversial locally with both former MP Matt Hancock and his newly-elected successor Nick Timothy objecting to the plans.

The cabinet member for planning at West Suffolk Council has said he is disappointed at the decision.

And Suffolk County Council described the decision as a huge blow to the communities which had campaigned against it.

It will be built across four sites, one near Mildenhall and West Row, another near Freckenham and Worlington and then on two other sites in East Cambridgeshire close to Newmarket. They will all be connected by cables running underground. 

While West Suffolk Council supports sustainability and use of renewable energy including solar, the council’s position is that the Sunnica application is too big and in the wrong location.

Jim Thorndyke, cabinet member for planning at West Suffolk Council said: “Many of our local towns and parishes and the Sunnica Action Group have raised concerns about the impact of this application.

"West Suffolk Council has listened, and it has also reviewed the information from Sunnica. Together with Suffolk County Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, we have all objected to the application citing concerns about the impact it will have.

“So I am disappointed by today’s decision.

“We are fully committed to solar and other renewable energy to help tackle climate change. 

“But Sunnica proposals are too big and may cause and in the wrong location and we will now be carefully reviewing the decision to understand how it has been reached.”

Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s deputy cabinet member for nationally significant infrastructure projects, said: “The approval of this solar farm is a massive blow to local communities, agriculture, nature and our landscape in the west of Suffolk.

“I am frankly shocked that the poorest infrastructure application that I have ever dealt with, has now been approved - we highlighted numerous deficiencies in the submission.

“The voices of thousands of local residents, businesses and organisations have not been listened to. This scheme will permanently and detrimentally impact the landscape of a vast part of West Suffolk and remove thousands of acres of land from food production.

“Despite some improvements to the initial application, we felt that the proposals did not meet the standards we, and local communities, would expect from a project on this scale.

"Local residents will quite rightly be asking what it takes for a project to be refused, when the worst project we have dealt with gets consented in the face of so much opposition.”

However Sunnica welcomed the news. It published a statement saying: "Sunnica is immensely pleased with the decision by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to grant development consent for Sunnica Energy Farm.

"Sunnica would make a nationally significant contribution towards the UK’s legal obligation to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and its ongoing energy security.

"This important milestone and the decision by the Secretary of State has come after many months of intense scrutiny and robust engagement with the planning process, and wider public consultations.

"We will now move forward towards the implementation phase, ultimately allowing us to create clean renewable energy for the UK, and look forward to meeting with local authorities and the wider community to plan the next steps."