Previous plans for a solar farm on the same land have been refused.

New plans have been submitted for a solar farm in Cambridgeshire, after plans were previously refused on the same site. Pathfinder Clean Energy wants to install a 49.9 megawatt solar farm on land at Treading Field in Treading Drain, Tydd St Giles, near Wisbech.

If approved, the panels would be on a 140.5 acre site. The applicants said: “The site comprises approximately 140.5 hectares (ha) and is proposed to provide a solar energy farm with a maximum export capacity of 49.9MW to the local distribution network.

“A solar farm of this scale would be expected to provide sufficient electricity to power approximately 22,388 average UK homes annually, preventing 16,200 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.” Battery storage, a substation, ancillary plant, security fencing, and CCTV cameras have also been proposed.

If approved, the solar farm would be operational for up to 40 years. Part of the land is also under the jurisdiction of South Holland District Council.

Pathfinder Clean Energy has submitted a scoping opinion application to both Fenland District Council and South Holland District Council. The applicants have previously submitted two applications for the same site, which were refused.

The latest refusal was in May 2025. The plans were blocked by the council who claimed they would be seen as a “blot on the landscape”.

Initially, it was recommended for approval as it would “contribute positively to environmental sustainability”. But officers recognised the potential harm could cause to the area’s appearance.

The plans received backlash from the public, with 36 objections submitted towards them. People argued the site was in an “inappropriate” location, and concerns were raised about a loss of farmland.

At the time, Councillor Brenda Barber called for the plans to be refused. She called for the “preservation of the Fenland landscape and recognition of the area of Fenland as critical for food production”.

Plans were also presented to South Holland District Council for its area of land. However, these were also refused.

The mud walls are thought to date from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

A Cambridgeshire town’s mud walls have been given new protections. Traditional mud walls in Whittlesey now cannot be demolished, removed, or altered without specific planning permission.

An immediate ‘Article 4 Direction’ requiring the permission for works affecting traditional mud walls was agreed by Fenland District Council’s cabinet committee at the end of January. A consultation is now open for the public to have their say.

Cllr Dee Laws, Fenland’s portfolio holder for planning said: “Whittlesey’s traditional mud walls are a distinctive and irreplaceable element of the town’s heritage, and their continued loss would result in permanent harm to local character and sense of place.

“We’re delighted to take this action to offer protection for these important features and look forward to working with owners of land and property where the walls are to ensure they’re conserved.”

A report to the council’s cabinet said Whittlesey’s nationally rare mud walls were made using locally sourced clay mixed with straw and built in tapering layers. Most of Whittlesey’s mud walls are thought to date from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

There are several sections of boundary mud walls in Whittlesey. While seven are Grade II listed, the others were not protected.

The Article 4 direction does not wholly prevent any changes being made to traditional mud walls. It does now require planning permission to be sought and granted beforehand.

This allows the council to properly assess the impact of proposed works, balance heritage considerations with other material planning matters, and grant permission where works are justified and appropriately designed. The council’s consultation on the new protections runs until Monday, March 16.