Ed Miliband is preparing for a legal showdown in the High Court over a controversial solar farm project that local residents claim will devastate the landscape.
The Helios Solar Farm, located near Selby in North Yorkshire, received approval from the Energy Secretary last month. However, this decision has sparked a wave of opposition, with campaigners actively raising funds to mount a legal challenge.
If constructed, the solar farm would rank among the largest in the United Kingdom, spanning 1,175 hectares of farmland to the west of Camblesforth and generating 190 megawatts of electricity.
Local residents, who feel they have already borne the brunt of recent green initiatives, are voicing strong objections, citing fears of industrial encroachment on the rural landscape.
The campaign group Halt (Halt All Large Transmission/Solar Farms) has taken up the cause, arguing that the planning approval process was flawed. They are pursuing legal advice that suggests there are significant and arguable errors in the decision.
With a looming deadline of six weeks from Mr. Miliband’s December 3rd approval date, the group is urgently gathering the necessary funds to present their case in court.
Around half of the £15,000 required to launch the challenge has already been pledged, and the group believes it will be in a position to submit the review within days.
All contributions will be refunded if the threshold is not met, and further funds would be needed if the review proceeded to court.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband approved plans last month for a vast new solar farm in North Yorkshire. Pictured: Miliband visits a solar farm in Retford, Nottinghamshire, in 2024
If completed, the project would be one of the largest of its kind in the UK. Pictured: File image of a solar farm near bath in October 2025
If the money is raised, Halt’s legal challenge will focus on questioning whether rules regarding the cumulative impact of energy infrastructure were followed in the plans.
Residents and community leaders have claimed the Selby area is being unfairly targeted for green energy projects – with a concurrent campaign fighting another large project, Light Valley Solar, to the west of the town.
Bryan Ward, 40, who owns the nearby 17th-century wedding venue Camblesforth Hall with his wife, pointed out that locals had already suffered disruption from two separate 50MW solar sites being built to the north and the south of the village.
He told The Telegraph: ‘We have had legal advice on this from a solicitor, and we don’t think that they have reviewed the cumulative impact of the project at all.’
Mr Ward said the development would knock out ‘prime agricultural land’ that is home to ‘deer, barn owls, bats, loads of birds of prey’ and that provides recreation for horse riders and ramblers.
He added that he hoped the campaign might stall the project long enough for a new government with a different view, even if it fails in court.
The application for the solar farm, submitted by Enso Energy and Cero Generation, includes a battery energy storage scheme (BESS) connected to the grid via underground cable at nearby Drax power station.
Enso Energy said the site would provide enough energy to power 47,500 homes.
The areas marked for solar panels, shaded in blue, dwarf the nearby village of Camblesforth
An anti-solar farm protestor dressed as a rabbit (campaigning against Strattons Farm, Kingsclere project)
Energy Minister Martin McCluskey said: ‘Families in Yorkshire have seen their energy bills go through the roof as a result of our exposure to volatile gas prices.
‘The only way to make British people better off in the long-term is by securing clean, homegrown power that we control.
‘Giving the green light to the Helios Solar Farm is another step forward in our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, creating jobs, driving economic growth and protecting family finances.’
The Department does not comment on specific live planning cases.
