Lime Down inquiry to return as M4 solar park war intensifies

The September meetings are expected to be some of the last hearings in the six-month examination of Island Green Power’s plans for a vast solar-and-battery development between Malmesbury and the M4.

Hearings are due to be held on Tuesday, September 15, Wednesday, September 16 and Thursday, September 17 at The National Self Build & Renovation Centre, near Swindon, and will focus on landscape and visual impacts, cultural heritage, and hydrology, flood risk and drainage; traffic and transportation; and outline management and mitigation plans.

A second set of hearings will be held on Tuesday, September 22 and Wednesday, September 23 and Thursday, September 24 at The NSBRC, and will focus on socio-economics, and ecology and biodiversity; compulsory acquisition; and the Development Consent Order — the legal instrument needed to build and operate the project.

The solar project would have an export capacity of up to 500MW and include battery storage, with the developer saying it could generate enough electricity for around 115,000 homes each year.

But opponents say the scheme would industrialise a major swathe of rural landscape, remove productive farmland and put further pressure on country lanes, public rights of way and local communities.

The inquiry opened in April amid a sizeable protest outside The Neeld Community & Arts Centre in Chippenham.

More than 100 people demonstrated as the Planning Inspectorate panel began its preliminary meeting, with protesters voicing fears over the effect on countryside, farming and nearby villages.

Nearly 5,000 people had submitted representations before the examination began, with the vast majority objecting to the plans.

Inside, the first round of hearings gave residents, parish representatives, the council and the developer their initial opportunity to set out their cases.

An open-floor hearing allowed members of the public a short slot to address inspectors directly, while the first issue-specific session examined the scope of the application and how the examination would proceed.

A second block of hearings followed from June 30 to July 3. Those sessions covered compulsory acquisition and land rights, a further public open-floor hearing, and technical evidence on environmental effects, transport, ecology and the draft Development Consent Order — the legal instrument needed to build and operate the project.

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Wiltshire Council remains opposed to the application, having approved a formal representation stating that development consent should not be granted as submitted.

Because Lime Down is classed as nationally significant infrastructure, the final decision will rest with the Secretary of State rather than the council.

The examination is scheduled to close on October 21. Inspectors will then prepare a recommendation for ministers, with a Government decision expected in late 2026 or early 2027.