Council's legal challenge to controversial Morgan and Morecambe wind farm decision

Fylde Council has ruled out a legal challenge to the decision to grant permission for the Morgan and Morecambe Offshore Wind Farms Transmission Assets.

Explaining the decision, the council outlined how specialist legal advice has warned that any action could expose local taxpayers to potentially severe and uncapped financial liabilities despite the fact that it considers the Secretary of State’s decision to be fundamentally flawed.

Fylde Council has long argued that that the government’s decision departs from key findings of the Examining Authority’s report and offers no assurance that the project’s claimed benefits will be realised. It also highlighted ongoing uncertainty surrounding the financial viability of the Morgan scheme.

Despite its opposition to the development, the council said the legal threshold for a challenge had not been met, meaning it would not pursue litigation.

Councillor Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council, said: “This decision is a bitter disappointment for Fylde. Our representations persuaded the independent Planning Inspectorate to recommend that the application be refused

“The Secretary of State has overridden that expert judgment, ignoring the harm to Fylde’s coast, countryside and people’s livelihoods. She ruled that expanding renewable energy provides ‘very special circumstances’ that outweigh the Green Belt damage and ‘all other harms’ caused by the project.

“We are angry, residents are angry and parish councils are angry. We wanted to fight the decision and explored every option but the legal advice is clear: a challenge by the Council would expose taxpayers to unlimited and potentially very substantial costs. Others with capped legal protections may still pursue a claim.”

Throughout the examination process, Fylde Council said it had submitted evidence-based objections concerning the scale of harm to the area’s countryside, the impact on local communities and weaknesses in the applicants’ case.

The council said many of its concerns were recognised by the Examining Authority, which recommended that the application be refused. It maintains that the cabling corridor represents an unacceptable and avoidable burden on Fylde.

Following the announcement of the decision, the council sought specialist external legal advice to establish whether there were grounds to challenge it. The advice has now been received, with the council saying it was clear and definitive that the legal threshold for a challenge had not been met.

It added that pursuing a case would expose the authority, and therefore local taxpayers, to potentially severe and uncapped financial liabilities. The council also noted that other individuals or organisations may be able