The High Court has overturned a decision by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, to block a planned solar farm at a disused airfield in Suffolk proposed by Lark Energy. DLA Piper acted on behalf of Lark Energy on what is expected to be a test case for the renewable energy sector.

The case originally saw Lark Energy submit plans for a 100,000 panel solar farm in Ellough, Suffolk in February 2013. Waveney council rejected the proposal, instead granting permission for a 60,000 panel development. Lark Energy appealed and following a public inquiry a planning inspector recommended overturning this decision, supporting the plans for the original, larger farm on the basis that its benefits would outweigh the "limited harm" it would cause to the landscape.

The Communities Secretary consequently reviewed and blocked the planning application - a decision which was overturned by Justice Lindblom in the High Court. The ruling found that Eric Pickles' decision showed "substantial prejudice" to Lark Energy, and refused the Secretary of State leave to appeal.

Jim McAvan and Glenn Sharpe of DLA Piper represented Lark Energy on the matter. Jim said: "We are thrilled to have received such a positive outcome for our client, and hope to see this as a test case for other developers involved in renewable energy projects in future."

Jo Wall, development director at Lark Energy, added: “We were always concerned about the legality of the Secretary of State’s decision as it appeared to have been made without due regard to the local plan.

"It was clear to anyone that read the Secretary of State’s decision notice that this project was a victim of political expediency rather than rigorous application of planning policy.”