Campaigners believe they have grounds for a High Court legal challenge of a government decision to approve plans for a huge solar development in the North Yorkshire countryside.
Campaign group HALT says legal advice concluded that a judicial review of the granting of permission for the 190MW Helios solar farm near Selby had a good chance of success.
The group has launched a fundraising drive to raise the £15,000 needed to launch the challenge, with around £7,500 already pledged.
Further funds would be needed if the judicial review proceeded to court.
The challenge centres on whether national policy regarding the cumulative impacts of major energy infrastructure was properly applied before the decision to grant consent was made by the Secretary of State.
The solar scheme would be built on 476 hectares to the west of the village of Camblesforth.
The application was submitted by Enso Energy and Cero Generation.
The development, which will include a battery energy storage scheme (BESS), will connect to the grid via underground cable at the nearby Drax power station.
Byron Ward, from the campaign group, said: “HALT believes there are serious and arguable legal flaws in the planning decision which can only be tested by bringing a judicial review.
“To do this, we must instruct a specialist planning barrister to prepare and file the claim.”
The group is hoping to be in a position to submit the review within days.
Mr Ward said if the £15,000 was not pledged, the legal challenge would not proceed.
Campaigners have argued that by granting permission, the government ignored their concerns about the industrialisation of the rural area and the impact on the lives of local people.
Residents and community leaders have claimed the Selby area is being unfairly targeted for green energy projects, with a campaign underway to fight another large project, Light Valley Solar, to the west of the town.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero about the potential legal challenge.
In response, a spokesperson referred back to the Energy Minister Martin McCluskey’s previous comments made at the time of the decision notice when he said the project was a step towards making Britain a clean energy superpower.
He added at the time: “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.”
More details on the legal challenge and fundraising appeal are available here.
