Former council leaders attempted to buy planned solar farm near Sutton which authority now wants to stop

Emails and a council-procured investment report show attempts made by the councillors to buy the then-undetermined plans in early 2021 – although, to date, no public council document makes reference to the potential solar farm acquisition.

Emails show Coun Chris Emmas-Williams and Coun Ben Bellamy, at the time leader and deputy leader of the then Labour-controlled Amber Valley Council, pursued Kronos Solar to buy its planned 185-acre solar farm near Oakerthorpe and Alfreton.

A planning application for the scheme was validated by the council on December 22, 2020 – just five weeks later, on January 26, 2021, 11 months before the plans were eventually rejected by the council, Coun Bellamy emailed council executives saying he and Coun Emmas-Williams had held “initial positive conversations with Kronos Solar”.

The council is currently fighting a costly planning appeal, brought by Kronos, which could see the rejected plans overturned.

A six-day inquiry was held at the Post Mill Centre in South Normanton in late October and early November, including legal officials and experts representing the council, with a decision from a planning inspector due this month.

In the January email, Coun Bellamy detailed the meeting was “with a view to the borough considering purchasing the farm once completed, to help fulfil our climate change obligations and with the added benefit of providing a good and stable revenue stream for the borough”, at a cost of about £35m.

In early November 2020, about three months before the solar farm discussions started and nearly two months before the plans were filed, the council was given a significant warning over its financial viability – by its own executives.

The council’s projected deficit at that time was set to be £2.8m. Buying the site would involve a loan of about three times the council’s entire annual spending.

Coun Emmas-Williams, in a November 4, 2020 meeting, suggested the idea of borrowing money from the Public Works Loan Board, a government organisation which lends money to public bodies such as councils, to support its capital building programme, to bring in vital income.

Sylvia Delahey, council executive director of resources, said this was not sustainable and the profit could potentially be less than the loan repayments.

A few months later, in January 2021, Kronos made clear it was keen to pursue the idea with the council and was “convinced we could be effective in supporting action for gaining full support” for the deal.

A meeting on February 3, 2021, saw council executive Simon Gladwin meet Kronos officials to “scope out interest in the project and understand the options available”.

However, in April, following an independent report, Mr Gladwin said the “potential payback period” appeared to be 20 years, and the consultants had “significant concerns” about the solar farm planning application.

The report – which highlights that the scheme is “subject to a large amount of public objection” – estimates the total cost of buying the solar farm would be £27.3m, with annual operating costs of £735,000 and a return would be 5.4 per cent, meaning it would take the council 19 years to see a return on its investment.

When approached, Coun Bellamy, who until recently was leader and subsequently deputy leader of the Labour Group, and is now listed as an Independent on the council, confirmed he initiated the potential deal with Kronos.

He recalled it was January 18, 2021, when he approached Kronos “to ascertain whether there was any possibility of investment at all”, followed up by a “brief call” on January 19, for a further discussion.

This initial approach from Coun Bellamy was four weeks after the plans were submitted to the authority.

Coun Bellamy, asked why the discussions happened before the plans were determined, said: “We saw the potential opportunity when the application landed and these things always take a long time in local government.

“You need to go through a lot of hoops to get to a position where you know whether there is even a decision to be made on an investment like this. If we were to have been looking to go ahead, it would have made sense to be ready to act.

“Obviously the decision for the go ahead on the scheme or not was for the planning board, and they rejected it.”

“Given the perilous state of the council’s finances, we explored many options for investment to bring in revenue, just as the public would expect us to.

“Any scheme that could guarantee an income above the cost of borrowing is worth looking at and, unless you spend time exploring these things, you will never know one way or another.

“Clearly this particular scheme could not get to the stage where it could be placed before council for a decision whether to proceed or due diligence could take place until any application was successful, which time told, it wasn’t.

“Where there are options to invest in green technologies and bring in revenue, I believe we should consider them.”

Coun Emmas-Williams said: “At no time was there any risk to the authority.”

Coun Kevin Buttery, Conservative leader of the council, said: “I am shocked at this on a number of levels. It would appear pre-meetings were held without an official council officer present.

“Coun Emmas-Williams and Coun Bellamy, in my view, should not have gone anywhere near this project until the planning application had been dealt with.

“How can the public have confidence in the planning process, when council leaders were actively involved in buying a controversial scheme under planning consideration, but have not disclosed their interest publicly?

“At a time when council services and jobs were at risk, this was not the time to start gambling with taxpayers’ money, by taking out huge loans to become an energy provider on this scale.”