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Labour accused of 'riding roughshod' on solar farms

NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Solar panels on grass, as seen from above NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
The latest solar farm plans would encompass land around Swaffham

A county council leader has accused the government of "riding roughshod" over local opinion after a solar farm equivalent to the size of 1,500 football pitches became the third to be unveiled in a county in recent weeks.

The 2,800-acre scheme, known as the Droves, has been earmarked by Island Green Power for farmland around Swaffham and Castle Acre in Norfolk but it would be dwarfed by a giant scheme already outlined for neighbouring land stretching towards Dereham.

The two schemes, and another suggested near Long Stratton, are part of plans to meet the government's net zero targets.

A final decision on the projects rests with the government, with Norfolk County Council leader, Kay Mason Billig, a Conservative, voicing her opposition to the "excessive number of applications for huge solar farms" in the county.

'Do not understand impact'

“The Labour government has committed to trebling solar capacity by the end of this decade, but that should not mean that all these solar panels should be in our county, just because it is convenient for them – especially when they are riding roughshod over local opinion and common sense," she added.

“The government need to allow local planning authorities to decide where they should be placed, not taking the decision in London where they do not understand the impact that a solar farm will have on the local population who may be blighted by it, yet are unlikely to benefit from it.”

Island Green Power said the Droves would generate up to 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity – enough to power around 115,000 homes annually - and would be in use for up to 60 years.

Plans are not expected to be submitted until winter 2025, after months of consultation.

Kay Mason Billig with backdrop of blue screen with BBC Radio Norfolk repeated across it in white letters
Kay Mason Billig believes decisions on solar farms should not be made at Westminster

The same developer recently put forward plans for East Pye, would cover 2,700 acres around several villages near Long Stratton.

The proposals have already faced opposition from parish councils, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Both would be outsized by RWE Renewables' proposal for High Grove at 4,000 acres, which would be on land adjoining the Droves.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband has described solar power as being “crucial” to hitting net zero targets and declared his intention to push ahead with onshore windfarms and solar farms where possible.

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