Back

All project updates

3 May 2024

A statement confirming the new deadline for the decision has been made to Parliament, in accordance with section 107(7) of the Planning Act 2008.

9 April 2024

The Secretary of State has decided to re-set the statutory deadline for this application to 20 June 2024.


A statement confirming the new deadline for a decision will be made to the House of Commons and House of Lords in accordance with section 107(7) of the Planning Act as soon as possible once Parliament is in session.

7 March 2024

The Secretary of State has decided to re-set the statutory deadline for this application to 11 April 2024.

A statement confirming the new deadline for the decision has been made to Parliament, in accordance with section 107(7) of the Planning Act 2008.

8 February 2024

The Planning Inspectorate's webpage for the Sunnica Energy Farm will be moved over to the new National Infrastructure Planning website in week commencing 12 February 2024. This means that the information currently on the 'Overview’ tab' will be presented in a different way and the way you access documents will be different.

Please contact the Case Team if you have any queries about the change: sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

15 January 2024

The Responses to the Secretary of State's letter of 14 December 2023 have been published.

The Secretary of State has today invited Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to her letter of 14 December 2023 (PDF, 188 KB).

Comments should be submitted by email to sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.

The Deadline for comments is 23:59 on 26 January 2024.

14 December 2023

The Secretary of State has today issued a letter to the Applicant and Natural England, requesting information (PDF, 188KB). The deadline for response is 23:59 on 11 January 2024.

12 December 2023

The statutory deadline for taking the decision on the application for development consent for the proposed Sunnica Energy Farm has been extended from 7 December 2023 to 7 March 2024.

A Statement was made in Parliament confirming the resetting of the statutory decision deadline.

7 December 2023

The Secretary of State will be setting a new deadline for a decision on this application.

A statement confirming the new deadline for a decision will be made to the House of Commons and House of Lords in accordance with section 107(7) of the Planning Act 2008 as soon as possible.

20 September 2023

The Secretary of State has decided to re-set the statutory deadline for this application to 7 December 2023.

A statement confirming the new deadline for the decision has been made to the House of Commons and House of Lords, in accordance with section 107(7) of the Planning Act 2008.

13 September 2023

Responses to the Secretary of State's invitation to Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to his information request of 27 July 2023 have been published.

The Secretary of State has also invited Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to his information request of 23 August 2023 (PDF, 177KB). Comments should be submitted by email to sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
The Deadline for comments is 23:59 on 13 September 2023

1 September 2023

The Secretary of State has today invited Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to his information request of 23 August 2023. Comments should be submitted by email to sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
The Deadline for comments is 23:59 on 13 September 2023.

The Secretary of State has also invited Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to his information request of 27 July 2023 (PDF, 144KB). Comments should be submitted by email to sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk.
The Deadline for comments is 23:59 on 11 September 2023

For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to the Health and Safety Regulations in the Secretary of State's letter of 27 July, is a reference to the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2015.

23 August 2023

The Secretary of State has today issued a letter to the Applicant, Historic England, Suffolk County Council and Cambridge County Council (PDF, 176KB) requesting information. The deadline for response is 23:59 on 30 August 2023.

The Secretary of State has also invited Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to his information request of 27 July 2023 (PDF, 144KB). Comments should be submitted by email to sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk The Deadline for comments is 23:59 on 11 September 2023

For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to the Health and Safety Regulations in the Secretary of State’s letter of 27 July, is a reference to the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2015.

14 August 2023

The Secretary of State has today invited Interested Parties to comment on the information provided in response to his information request of 27 July 2023

Comments should be submitted by email to sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

The Deadline for comments is 23:59 on 11 September 2023

For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to the Health and Safety Regulations in the Secretary of State’s letter of 27 July, is a reference to the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2015.

27 July 2023

The Secretary of State has today issued a letter to the Applicant and Natural England (PDF, 144 KB) requesting information.

The deadline for response is 23:59 on 10 August 2023.

28 June 2023

Recommendations given by the Planning Inspectorate

31 March 2023

The Examination closed at 23:59 on 28 March 2023 and the Examining Authority’s Notification of the completion of the Examination (PDF, 129 KB) has been published.

The Deadline 11 submissions have been published.


The Examination Library (PDF, 1MB) has been updated.

29 March 2023

The Examination closed at 23:59 on 28 March 2023 and the Examining Authority’s Notification of the completion of the Examination (PDF, 129 KB) has been published.

The Deadline 11 submissions will be published as soon as possible.

28 March 2023

The Deadline 10 Submissions have been published.

The Examining Authority has used its discretion to accept Additional Submission from:

The Examination Library (PDF, 1MB) will be updated shortly.

The Examination is due to close at 23:59 on Tuesday 28 March 2023.

28 March 2023

The examination is due to close at 23:59 on Tuesday 28th March.

23 March 2023

The Examining Authority has issued a letter (PDF, 159KB) requesting further information from the Applicant and Dr Fordham.

The Examining Authority has accepted at their discretion an Additional Submission from Cadent Gas Limited (PDF, 146KB) withdrawing their objection.

17 March 2023

The Deadline 9 Submissions have been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 1MB) has been updated.

15 March 2023

The Deadline 8 submissions have been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 1MB) has been updated.

10 March 2023

The following documents have been published:

The Examination Library (PDF, 941 KB) has been updated.

8 March 2023

The Deadline 7 submissions have been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 263KB) has been updated.

22 February 2023

The Examining Authority has issued a letter (PDF, 153KB) which amends the Examination Timetable (Rule 8(3)).

The following documents have been published:

The Examination Library has been updated.

15 February 2023

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the resumed Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 1 (CAH1), Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 2 (CAH2) and  Issue Specific Hearing 4 (ISH4) during the week commencing 13 February 2023 have been sent. For those wishing to observe any of the Hearings in real time please use the following livestream link:  https://iframe.dacast.com/live/0406afb8-7aa9-6a38-26c4-1fd34827a868/1ef80cae-839a-dfe4-07d2-89114d319b9c

Please note that the Hearings will start broadcasting LIVE once they open. If the livestream does not initially work it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage. If you have any issues with accessing the livestream please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000

The Examining Authority has used its discretion to accept further Additional Submissions from the Applicant.

10 February 2023

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the resumed Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 1 (CAH1), Compulsory Acquisition Hearing 2 (CAH2) and  Issue Specific Hearing 4 (ISH4) during the week commencing 13 February 2023 have been sent. For those wishing to observe any of the Hearings in real time please use the following livestream link:  https://iframe.dacast.com/live/0406afb8-7aa9-6a38-26c4-1fd34827a868/1ef80cae-839a-dfe4-07d2-89114d319b9c

Please note that the Hearings will start broadcasting LIVE once they open. If the livestream does not initially work it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage. If you have any issues with accessing the livestream please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000

The Examining Authority has used its discretion to accept further Additional Submissions from the Applicant.

7 February 2023

The following documents have been published:

The Examining Authority has used its discretion to accept Additional Submissions from the Applicant.

3 February 2023

The following documents have been published:

The Examining Authority’s third Written Questions (PDF, 398 KB)  The Deadline for responses is 3 March 2023.

The Examining Authority’s final itinerary (PDF, 133 KB)  for the Accompanied Site Inspection 4 (ASI4) – Wednesday 15 February 2023.

The Examination Library (PDF, 263 KB)  has been updated.

1 February 2023

The following documents have been published :

The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

25 January 2023

The Examining Authority has issued a Procedural Decision (PDF, 171 KB) regarding the Applicant’s change request of 13 January 2023 and change to the Examination timetable.

17 January 2023

The Deadline 5 submissions have been published.

The Examining Authority has issued a letter (PDF, 189 KB) which amends the Examination Timetable (Rule 8(3)) and provides notification of the date time and place fixed for Hearings and an Accompanied Site Inspection in February 2023 (Rule 13 and 16).

The Examination Library (PDF, 691 KB) will be updated shortly.

 

4 January 2023

The Examining Authority’s second Written Questions (PDF, 457KB) have been published. The Deadline for responses is 13 January 2023.

The Examination Library (PDF, 717KB) has been updated.

21 December 2022

The Deadline 4 submissions and an Additional Submission from the Applicant (PDF, 78KB) have been published. The Examination Library has been updated.

15 December 2022

The Examining Authority has issued a Procedural Decision (PDF, 143 KB) regarding the Applicant’s intention to submit a request to make further changes to the application.

The following have been published:

The Examination Library has been updated

14 December 2022

The Examining Authority has issued a Procedural Decision (PDF, 143 KB) regarding the Applicant’s intention to submit a request to make further changes to the application.

The following have been published:

The recordings and transcripts from the Open Floor Hearing 2 (OFH2) will be published as soon as possible. We apologise for the delay to these.

The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

12 December 2022

The Examining Authority has issued a Procedural Decision (PDF, 143 KB) regarding the Applicant’s intention to submit a request to make further changes to the application.

The following have been published:

The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

9 December 2022

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the Compulsory Acquisition Hearing (CAH1), Open Floor Hearings (OFH1 and OFH2) and  Issue Specific Hearings (ISH2 and ISH3) during the week commencing 5 December 2022 have been sent. For those wishing to observe any of the Hearings in real time please use the following livestream link:  https://vimeo.com/event/2685941/embed/8207fffe37

Please note that the Hearings will start broadcasting LIVE once they open. If the livestream does not initially work it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage. If you have any issues with accessing the livestream please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000

Please note that the List of Speakers at Annex A of the Agenda for the Open Floor Hearings (OFH1 and OFH2) (PDF, 175 KB) was updated on Thursday 8 December 2022.

The Examining Authority has accepted Additional Submissions from Peter Goodyear on behalf of Fordham (Cambs) Walking Group, Natural England and Say No To Sunnica, and two late submissions for Deadline 2 from Say No To Sunnica.

2 December 2022

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the Compulsory Acquisition Hearing (CAH1), Open Floor Hearings (OFH1 and OFH2) and  Issue Specific Hearings (ISH2 and ISH3) during the week commencing 5 December 2022 have been sent.

For those wishing to observe any of the Hearings in real time please use the following livestream link:  https://vimeo.com/event/2685941/embed/8207fffe37

Please note that the Hearings will start broadcasting LIVE once they open. If the livestream does not initially work it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

If you have any issues with accessing the livestream please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000

Please note that the List of Speakers at Annex A of the Agenda for the Open Floor Hearings (OFH1 and OFH2) (PDF, 175 KB) has been updated.

1 December 2022

The detailed Agendas for the Compulsory Acquisition Hearing (CAH1 (PDF, 174 KB)), Issue Specific Hearings (ISH2 (PDF, 144 KB) and ISH3 (PDF, 144 KB)) and Open Floor Hearings (OFH1 and OFH2 (PDF, 204 KB)) have been published. If you have been included in the List of Speakers for OFH1 or OFH2 but no longer wish to speak please can you let the Case Team know as soon as possible.

The Deadline 3A Submissions have been published. If you have any queries about the publication of these submissions please contact the Case Team.

The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

23 November 2022

The Deadline 3 Submissions have been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 507 KB) has been updated.

21 November 2022

The Examining Authority has issued a letter (PDF, 204 KB) which amends the Examination Timetable (Rule 8(3)).

The Examination Library (PDF, 243 KB) has been updated.

16 November 2022

The Deadline 2 Submissions have been published.
The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

11 November 2022

The joint Local Impact Report Appendices and the Applicant's Notice of Hearings (PDF, 184 KB) have been published. The Exam Library will be updated shortly.

8 November 2022

The Examining Authority has issued a letter (PDF, 231 KB) which amends the Examination Timetable (Rule 8(3)) and provides notification of the date, time and place fixed for Hearings in December (Rule 13).

4 November 2022

3 November 2022

Due to the weather conditions the Examining Authority has decided to rearrange the Accompanied Site Inspection (ASI3) scheduled for today, Thursday 3 November 2022. The Site Inspection will now start at 13:30 (meeting at 13:15pm) at Red Lodge Sports Pavilion, Hundred Acre Way, Red Lodge, Bury St Edmunds IP28 8FQ. The itinerary will be adjusted accordingly and will include an Inspection at La Hogue Farm (viewpoint 5 on the Final Itinerary (PDF, 898 KB)) and Chippenham Park (viewpoints 2 and 3). Other viewpoints may be visited dependant on weather conditions.

If you have any queries please contact the Case Team: sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

28 October 2022

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the Issue Specific Hearing on the draft Development Consent Order (ISH1) on Tuesday 1 November 2022 have been sent.

For those wishing to observe ISH1 in real time please use the following livestream link: https://vimeo.com/event/2523686/5246eec397

Please note that the Hearing will start broadcasting LIVE once it opens at 10:00. If the livestream does not initially work, it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

If you have any issues with accessing the livestream, please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@plannininginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000.

25 October 2022

The Examining Authority’s final itinerary (PDF, 898 KB) for the Accompanied Site Inspections (ASI) – Wednesday 2 November 2022 (ASI2) and Thursday 3 November 2022 (ASI3) have been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 660 KB) has been updated.

20 October 2022

Deadline 1 Submissions have been published.

The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

4 October 2022

The following documents have been published:

The Examining Authority’s Rule 8 letter (PDF, 344 KB), giving details of the Examination Timetable, Written Representations, Procedural Decisions, Notification of Hearing and Accompanied Site Inspections.

The Examining Authority’s Written Questions and requests for information (ExQ1)(PDF, 2 MB)

The recordings and transcripts of the resumed Preliminary Meeting on 28 September 2022.

The Examination Library will be updated in due course.

If you have any questions, please contact us: sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

4 October 2022

The Examination Timetable (Rule 8 letter) has been sent to Interested Parties.

Procedural decision following Preliminary Meeting.

30 September 2022

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the resumed Preliminary Meeting (PM) on Wednesday 28 September 2022 have been sent. For those wishing to observe the resumed PM in real time please use the following livestream link: https://player.vimeo.com/video/751618195?h=8c2abb121b

Please note that the PM will start broadcasting LIVE once it opens at 14:00. If the livestream does not initially work, it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

If you have any issues with accessing the livestream, please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@plannininginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000.

28 September 2022

Examination begins

26 September 2022

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the resumed Preliminary Meeting (PM) on Wednesday 28 September 2022 have been sent. For those wishing to observe the resumed PM in real time please use the following livestream link: https://player.vimeo.com/video/751618195?h=8c2abb121b
Please note that the PM will start broadcasting LIVE once it opens at 14:00. If the livestream does not initially work, it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

If you have any issues with accessing the livestream, please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@plannininginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000.

22 September 2022

The Examining Authority's final itinerary (PDF, 158KB) for the Accompanied Site Inspection (ASI1) on Thursday 29 September 2022 has been published.

16 September 2022

The Procedural Deadline C submissions , including the Applicant's response to the Examining Authority's letter of 8 September 2022, have been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 363KB) has been updated.

31 August 2022

The Examining Authority has today issued a Procedural Decision (PDF, 328 KB) to invite parties to the resumed Preliminary Meeting (PM) and provide notification of an Accompanied Site Inspection (ASI1).

The Applicant’s Change Request and supporting documents have been published.

The Examination Library will be updated in due course.

12 August 2022

The Procedural Deadline B Submissions have been published.

The Examining Authority’s notes of Unaccompanied Site Inspections on 27 and 28 July 2022 have also been published.

The Examination Library (PDF, 349 KB ) has been updated.

10 August 2022

The Procedural Deadline B Submissions have been published.

The Examining Authority’s notes of Unaccompanied Site Inspections on 27 and 28 July 2022 have also been published.

The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

1 August 2022

The recordings and transcript of the Preliminary Meeting on Tuesday 26 July 2022 have now been published; due to their size they have each been divided into three parts:

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by technical issues with the livestream during the event.

The Examining Authority has also received a request to become an Interested Party under s102A of the Planning Act 2008 from Jonathan Bower on behalf of Drug Development Solutions Limited, which they have accepted (PDF, 150KB).

28 July 2022

The Examining Authority has today issued a Procedural Decision (PDF, 172 KB) concerning their decision to adjourn the Preliminary Meeting on Tuesday 26 July 2022 and delay the start of the Examination.

The Examination Library will be updated in due course.

26 July 2022

Instructions for those wishing to participate in the Preliminary Meeting (PM) on Tuesday 26 July 2022 have been sent. For those wishing to observe the PM in real time please use the following livestream link: link removed.

Please note that the PM will start broadcasting LIVE once it opens at 10:00am. If the livestream does not initially work, it may be resolved by refreshing the webpage.

If you have any issues with accessing the livestream please contact the Case Team: Sunnica@plannininginspectorate.gov.uk or 0303 444 5000.

The Examining Authority has used its discretion to accept Additional Submissions from the following:

26 July 2022

Preliminary Meeting takes place

22 July 2022

The Examining Authority has made a Procedural Decision to postpone the Issue Specific Hearing (ISH1) and Open Floor Hearings (OFH 1 and 2) on 27 and 28 July 2022. Please see the Procedural Decision for further details. The Preliminary Meeting on 26 July 2022 will start as detailed in the Rule 6 letter, (PDF, 434KB) and joining and registration details will be sent to Interested Parties who have pre-registered their attendance shortly.

If you have any questions, please contact us: sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

22 July 2022

Due to a technical issue some Procedural Deadline A submissions, submitted through the 'Make a submission' tab, were not received by the Case Team. The issue has now been resolved and the affected Procedural Deadline A submissions have now been published. We apologise for any inconvenience.

15 July 2022

The Procedural Deadline A Submissions for Sunnica Energy Farm have been published. The Examination Library will be updated shortly.

28 June 2022

The notification of Preliminary Meeting (Rule 6 letter) has been sent.

The letter also includes the draft Examination Timetable and Initial Assessment of Principal Issues.

14 June 2022

The Applicant has submitted a copy of its notice of public exhibitions (PDF, 132 KB) relating to the ongoing consultation which has been accepted by the Examining Authority as an Additional Submission. Please ensure that your response to the consultation is sent to the Applicant and not to the Planning Inspectorate.

7 June 2022

The Applicant has submitted a copy of its Consultation Notice (PDF, 101KB), which has been accepted by the Examining Authority as an Additional Submission. Please ensure that your response to the consultation is sent to the Applicant and not to the Planning Inspectorate.

26 May 2022

The following documents have been published on the website:

The Examination Library (PDF, 272KB) will be updated shortly.

25 May 2022

The Examining Authority has today issued a letter (PDF, 134KB) regarding the responses received to its letter of 4 May 2022 (PDF,147KB).

The Examining Authority’s notes of Unaccompanied Site Inspections on 24 and 25 April 2022 (PDF, 74KB) and 10 and 11 May 2022 (PDF, 59KB) have also been published.

4 May 2022

The Examining Authority has today issued a letter (PDF, 147 KB) requesting comments by 23:59 Wednesday 18 May on the Applicant’s response (PDF, 303 KB) to the Examining Authority’s letter of 22 April 2022 (PDF, 164 KB).

3 May 2022

The date included in the Examining Authority’s letter of 22 April 2022 as a deadline for Interested Parties and Affected Persons to provide comments on the Applicant’s response to the ExA’s letter by (9 May 2022) is no longer in place. We apologise for any inconvenience.

A letter from the Examining Authority requesting comments along with a new deadline will be published and issued shortly. The Applicant’s response to the 22 April 2022 letter will also be published at the same time.

22 April 2022

The Relevant Representation from Ellen Clowes was not published until today due to an internal error. It was received before the 17 March 2022 deadline.

The Examining Authority has written to the Applicant following their letters of 30 March 2022 and 19 April 2022 and is seeking a response from the Applicant by Thursday 28 April 2022.

The Examining Authority’s note of an Unaccompanied Site Inspection on 10th and 11th April 2022 has been published.

6 April 2022

Relevant Representations have been published and can be found under the Relevant Representations tab.

The Examining Authority has used its discretion to accept Additional Submissions from the following:

  • Sunnica Ltd - response to section 51 Advice

  • The Coal Authority

  • NATS Ltd, Safeguarding Office

  • National Highways

  • East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust


The Examination Library (PDF, 264kb) will be updated shortly.

5 April 2022

Relevant representations published on the website

18 March 2022

After serving notice of the accepted application, as required under section 56 of the Planning Act 2008, the Applicant identified updated contact details for various organisations. As such, the Applicant has re-served notice to the most appropriate person for those organisations to provide them with additional time to submit their representations and register to become an Interested Party. The Deadline for those parties only to submit a representation is 23:59 on 1 April 2022

If you have received such a further notification from the Applicant, dated 24 February 2022, and wish to make a representation, please contact us at Sunnica@planninginspectorate.gov.uk or telephone 0303 444 5000.

17 March 2022

Registration of interested parties closes

27 January 2022

Registration of interested parties begins

16 December 2021

The application has been accepted for examination

18 November 2021

This application was received by the Planning Inspectorate on 18 November 2021.

The application documents will be made available on the project page of this website if the application is accepted for examination.

It is for the Applicant to decide whether or not application documents can be published upon submission (see government’s Planning Act 2008: guidance on the Pre-application process).

18 November 2021

Application received by the Planning Inspectorate