Within days of the general election on 4 July, the new Labour government gave the go-ahead to three large solar farm proposals in the country; one in Lincolnshire, one covering Rutland and Lincolnshire and the other in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. This is important as in North Bedfordshire, there is a proposal is for a 1,900 acre solar farm (East Park Energy) in the north eastern part of the constituency covering Little Staughton, Dean and Shelton, Swineshead and Pertenhall, and Bolnhurst and Keysoe and over into the border with Huntingdon.
In light of this news, Richard has again met with the owners of the East Park Energy project and with affected parish councils to discuss their reaction to the national news and to ensure that residents' voices are heard as much as possible in the planning process.
The consultation on this proposal is expected shortly and Richard has informed the owners of East Park Energy, Brockwell Energy, that he will be objecting to the proposal.
Richard Fuller MP said:
Given that the new Labour Government is moving fast to approve other solar farm proposals, I have concerns about what this will mean for the local East Park Energy solar farm proposal. So as well as meeting with Brockwell Energy and the affected parish councils, I have also written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, to ask for a meeting with him to discuss the proposal.
We can all agree that renewable energy is a worthy cause to pursue, but equally we need to be mindful of the need for food security and to preserve the rural character of some of our most beautiful and unspoilt countryside.
The proposed solar farm in the north eastern part of my constituency will cover around 2,000 acres, much of which is good agricultural land. The best and most versatile agricultural land must be protected. Local planning authorities should focus on using previously developed land and non-agricultural land for large-scale solar farm development, so long as the land is not of high environmental value. It is also important to address the cumulative impact of large-scale solar farms, given that we are increasingly seeing geographical clustering of proposed solar developments in some areas, such as within our constituency.
The reason that area has been chosen is almost entirely due to the fact that it has reasonably easy access to the national grid.
Rather than trample over our countryside and the wishes of many local residents, I would sooner see a solution that expands access points to the grid and would therefore allow the considerable acreage that exists on, for example, warehouse roofs to be exploited for solar energy capture. That is why I became a CPRE rooftop solar champion last year, https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/news/richard-becomes-cpre-rooftop-solar-champion
I will continue to meet with East Park Energy, affected Parish Councils and the National Grid to seek solutions that can work for all parties.
Richard added:
Food security is an essential part of our national security. While solar and farming can be complementary, developers should have consideration for ongoing food production. I supported the previous Conservative Government's decision to update national planning policy to make clear that the availability of agricultural land used for food production should be considered when deciding what sites are most appropriate for development. The purpose of this was to ensure the availability of land for food production is adequately weighted in the planning process.
I am therefore concerned that the new Labour Government is proposing to remove this from national planning policy. There is an open consultation to seek views on the new Labour Government’s proposed approach to revising the National Planning Policy Framework and I would encourage people to share their views on the consultation, which you can find here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-reforms-to-the-national-planning-policy-framework-and-other-changes-to-the-planning-system
To stay up to date with this solar farm proposal, please visit Richard's webpage here: https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/campaigns/solar-farms
