Lincolnshire County Council

Climate · drafted 2026-07-01 · accepted · 16 finding(s)

← council-level findings on this theme

9 Jun 2025On 9 June 2025 Lincolnshire County Council's Planning and Regulation Committee resolved to lodge a formal objection to the Springwell Energy Farm Development Consent Order — an up-to-800MW ground-mounted solar and battery-storage NSIP on roughly 1,280 hectares of predominantly agricultural land, ~42% of it Best and Most Versatile — the Council being a statutory consultee, not the determining authority. On a motion by Councillor C L E Vernon, seconded by Councillor T J G Dyer, it was carried 8 in favour, 2 against, 3 abstentions. [1][2]

14 Jul 2025On 14 July 2025 the Planning and Regulation Committee resolved to object to the One Earth Solar Farm Development Consent Order — an up-to-740MW solar-plus-BESS NSIP whose Lincolnshire land was ~67% Best and Most Versatile agricultural land — informing the Examining Authority of the County Council's objection alongside submission of its Local Impact Report. On a motion by Councillor P T Lock, seconded by Councillor A C Woodruff, it was carried 14 in favour, 1 against. [3][4]

29 Sep 2025On 29 September 2025 the Planning and Regulation Committee resolved to object to the Beacon Fen Energy Park Development Consent Order — an up-to-400MW solar scheme with an up-to-600MW Battery Energy Storage System, affecting around 277 hectares (about 56% of the site) of Best and Most Versatile agricultural land — informing the Examining Authority of the County Council's objection in its written representation. On a motion by Cllr J Bean, seconded by Cllr M J Hill OBE, it was carried 7 in favour, 1 against, 1 abstention. [5][6]

12 Jan 2026On 12 January 2026 the Planning and Regulation Committee resolved to object to the Fosse Green Energy (Navenby) Development Consent Order — a 240MW solar generating facility with a 480MWh Battery Energy Storage System on predominantly agricultural land involving a significant take of Best and Most Versatile land — basing the Council's written representation on those objection reasons. On a motion by Councillor T E Sneath, seconded by Councillor C Edgoose-Zagorskiy, it was carried 10 in favour, 1 against, 2 abstentions. [7][8][9]

16 Jan 2026Lincolnshire County Council, the responsible authority for the Greater Lincolnshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, delivered its statutory LNRS on the timetable it set rather than delaying or deprioritising it: in January 2026 the Executive Councillor for Environment announced the strategy work was due to begin in February with a draft coming to the Environment Scrutiny Committee before adoption, and on 9 June 2026 the Executive adopted the Strategy and authorised its submission to the Secretary of State as required by the Environment Act 2021 — no delay, deprioritisation, under-resourcing or scaling-back of the duty is recorded. [10][11]

26 Jan 2026Lincolnshire's Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee was told in January 2026 that Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) work and the enhanced bus partnership had secured further Department for Transport funding, evidencing continued (not reduced) BSIP delivery. [12]

3 Feb 2026The Executive (3 February 2026) confirmed the County Council's statutory Local Plan responsibility is limited to minerals and waste, updating the Minerals and Waste Development Scheme timetable to December 2027; this is the only Local Plan process the county itself runs. [13]

13 Feb 2026Lincolnshire County Council's new Environment Policy scraps the council's declared 2050 carbon-neutrality / net-zero target. At the Environment Scrutiny Committee on 13 February 2026, Executive Councillor for Environment Danny Brookes introduced the policy by announcing the scrapping of the obligatory 2050 carbon neutrality target; members noted the abandonment of net zero targets and concern at the scrapping of the Green Masterplan, and the Executive Councillor said the administration would still work towards net zero goals but they would no longer be pegged to an obligatory target. Councillor Baxter asked for his vote against to be recorded. [14][15][16][17]

13 Feb 2026Lincolnshire County Council's Executive adopted a new Environment Policy (3 March 2026) that scraps the council's obligatory 2050 carbon neutrality target and supersedes the prior Green Masterplan (the council's climate action plan) with a high-level policy carrying no binding targets. The Executive Councillor for Environment, Danny Brookes, announced the change at Environment Scrutiny Committee on 13 February 2026 (which resolved to support the recommendation to Executive, members expressing concern at 'the scrapping of the Green Masterplan and the lack of transparency due to a lack of targets'), and the Executive formally resolved on 3 March 2026 to adopt the new policy. [18][19][20]

13 Feb 2026At Environment Scrutiny Committee on 13 February 2026, members questioned the council's stance on solar panels on County Council properties in the context of the new Environmental Policy (which scrapped the obligatory 2050 carbon-neutrality target and the Green Masterplan); officers confirmed that no actual estate/decarbonisation projects, including the solar programme, had been scrapped, and the Executive Councillor said the administration was not opposed in principle to further battery storage/solar installations (only restricted on farmland). [21][22][23]

3 Mar 2026On 3 March 2026 the Executive formally adopted the revised Environment Policy, replacing the Green Masterplan; the Executive Councillor for Environment stated the administration did not see a need to pursue a net zero target. The Executive resolved that the Environment Policy be adopted, confirming the removal of the council's net-zero target in favour of a non-target policy. [24][25]

27 Mar 2026Lincolnshire County Council's Environment Scrutiny Committee reviewed a report on the future of its Salix Fund (public-building decarbonisation) scheme on 27 March 2026, with members querying future project priorities and proposing to expand rather than curtail solar installations on council buildings; an earlier meeting (13 February 2026) recorded that Salix scheme income was actively being used to fund building energy-efficiency improvements. The resolution was simply to note the report; no decline, handback, or underspend of retrofit/decarbonisation grant funding is recorded in the published minutes. [26][27]

1 Apr 2026On 1 April 2026 the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Transport Board (chaired under Reform Mayor Andrea Jenkyns) unanimously resolved (recorded vote, FOR: 6) to approve an implementation plan transitioning the county's three existing bus enhanced partnerships into a single Greater Lincolnshire Enhanced Partnership and to develop a new unified Bus Service Improvement Plan, i.e. expanding rather than cutting the BSIP commitment. [28]

Lincolnshire's Pensions Committee (the LGPS administering authority for the Lincolnshire Pension Fund) reviewed and endorsed the pooled Border to Coast Responsible Investment Policy, Corporate Governance and Voting Guidelines, and Climate Change Policy on 11 December 2025, and resolved to align Lincolnshire's own RI Policy and Corporate Governance and Voting Guidelines with Border to Coast's; the Committee also confirmed the fund's exclusions policy retained only a narrow, engagement-first exclusion route (e.g. controversial weapons producers), with no discussion of adopting or rejecting fossil-fuel divestment. This is a continuation/endorsement, not a weakening of a prior net-zero or responsible-investment commitment, and does not count toward the rollback figure. [29][30]

Lincolnshire (via the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority) is continuing, not pausing or cancelling, its Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding: at the GLCCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 28 January 2026, officers confirmed revenue funding for constituent authorities to continue LEVI delivery, noting grid-capacity concerns for some low-powered on-site charging sites but no reduction, pause or return of funding. [31]

Lincolnshire County Council's corpus shows no housing-oriented Local Plan of its own: the county's Local Plan role is confined to minerals and waste, with housing/development-management Local Plans (e.g. the South Kesteven Local Plan, Central Lincolnshire Local Plan) made and administered by the Lincolnshire district councils, not the county. No exact-phrase or semantic search of the corpus found any Lincolnshire CC decision to drop, weaken or decline net-zero/energy-efficiency housing standards, because the county has no such Local Plan to amend. [32]

References (32)
  1. Minutes, 9 June 2025 “On a motion proposed by Councillor C L E Vernon, and seconded by Councillor T J G Dyer, it was RESOLVED (8 in favour, 2 against, 3 abstentions) That the Committee informs the Examining Authority of the Council’s objection to the Development Consent Order application as noted in the report.”
  2. Minutes, 9 June 2025 “Approximately 42% of the site was classified as Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land, with 591 hectares proposed to be covered by solar panels”
  3. Minutes, 14 July 2025 “On a motion proposed by Councillor P T Lock, and seconded by Councillor A C Woodruff, it was RESOLVED (14 in favour, 1 against) That the Committee: 1. approves the submission of the Local Impact Report at Appendix B to the One Earth Solar Examining Authority with the updated text on sequential test requirements, and 2. informs the One Earth Solar Examining Authority of the County Council’s objection to the Development Consent Order application, with the amended wording suggested by Members of the Committee.”
  4. Minutes, 14 July 2025 “Approximately 67% of the Lincolnshire land was classified as best and most versatile agricultural land, amounting to 137 hectares.”
  5. Minutes, 29 September 2025 “On a motion proposed by Cllr J Bean, and seconded by Cllr M J Hill OBE, it was RESOLVED (7 in favour, 1 against, 1 abstention) a) That the submission of the Local Impact Report (Appendix B) to the Examining Authority for the Beacon Fen Solar DCO examination be approved; and b) That the Examining Authority, in the Council’s written representation, be informed of the County Council’s objection to the DCO application for the reasons set out in the report.”
  6. Minutes, 29 September 2025 “Approximately 277 hectares of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land (Grades 1, 2, 3a) affected around 56% of site, with circa 20 hectares permanently lost to built infrastructure e.g., access corridor.”
  7. Minutes, 12 January 2026 “On a motion proposed by Councillor T E Sneath, and seconded by Councillor C Edgoose- Zagorskiy, it was”
  8. Minutes, 12 January 2026 “RESOLVED (10 in favour, 1 against, 2 abstentions) That the Local Impact Report be approved for submission to the Fosse Green Examining Authority and that the Council objects to the DCO application for the reasons set out in the report, with the Council’s written representation to be based upon those reasons.”
  9. Minutes, 12 January 2026 “Agricultural Land and Soils: There would be a significant take of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land, with the cumulative effect across multiple large schemes assessed as a county level concern.”
  10. Minutes, 16 January 2026 “the statutory local nature recovery strategy was due to begin in February and that the draft strategy would be received by the committee prior to its adoption by the Council”
  11. Minutes, 9 June 2026 “the Greater Lincolnshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (Strategy) attached at Appendix A to the report, be adopted and that, as required by the Environment Act 2021, the submission of the Strategy to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for publication be authorised”
  12. Minutes, 26 January 2026 “the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) work and enhanced partnership had secured £8.6m Department for Transport (DfT) funding”
  13. Minutes, 3 February 2026 “the County Council had a statutory responsibility to plan for future minerals supply and waste management within Lincolnshire via a Minerals and Waste Local Plan.”
  14. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “Danny Brookes, the Executive Councillor for Environment introduced the new policy by highlighting key announcements such as the scrapping of the obligatory 2050 carbon neutrality target and prioritisation of agriculture and food security in Lincolnshire.”
  15. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “The Executive Councillor acknowledged the administration still intended to work towards net zero goals, but they would no longer be pegged to an obligatory target to prevent potential financial burdens on local taxpayers.”
  16. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “Members expressed concern with the scrapping of the Green Masterplan and the lack of transparency due to a lack of targets.”
  17. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “Councillor Baxter requested that his vote of against be recorded in the minutes.”
  18. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “the scrapping of the obligatory 2050 carbon neutrality target”
  19. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “the scrapping of the Green Masterplan”
  20. Minutes “RESOLVED 1. That the Environment Policy, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be adopted.”
  21. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “It was further queried what stance was being taken towards solar panels on County Council properties and whether battery storage would be adopted to supplement solar installations.”
  22. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “Officers also acknowledged that currently no actual projects had been scrapped.”
  23. Minutes, 13 February 2026 “the administration was not opposed in principle”
  24. Minutes, 3 March 2026 “He stated that the administration did not see a need to pursue a net zero target and strongly opposed the industrialisation of the Lincolnshire countryside.”
  25. Minutes, 3 March 2026 “That the Environment Policy, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be adopted.”
  26. Minutes, 27 March 2026 “Consideration was given to a report which invited the Committee to review and comment on the future of the Salix Fund scheme.”
  27. Minutes “the least energy efficient buildings would be identified, with income from the Salix scheme used to fund improvements”
  28. Minutes, 1 April 2026 “approved the Implementation Plan (Appendix B), which set out high-level milestones for a Greater Lincolnshire Enhanced Partnership, including a Bus Service Improvement Plan and Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme(s)”
  29. Minutes “That the proposed Border to Coast Responsible Investment Policy, Corporate Governance and Voting Guidelines, and Climate Change Policy be endorsed. 2. That the Lincolnshire RI Policy and Corporate Governance and Voting Guidelines be aligned with Border to Coast’s.”
  30. Minutes “clarification was sought in relation to the exclusions policy. Officers advised that after periods of unsuccessful engagement there would be the option to exclude a company. However, it was noted that there were very few exclusions in the policy, with one example being companies producing controversial weapons.”
  31. Minutes “Officers advised that revenue funding for constituent authorities would be provided to enable them to continue delivery of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) programme.”
  32. Document “Lincolnshire Mineral and Waste Local Plan Core Strategy & Development Management Policies (2016) and South Kesteven Local Plan (2011-2036).”