A local contradiction of national planning policy shows why national guidelines need examining, says Staffordshire County Council.
The Government’s Energy Minister Michael Shanks has told the county council that only 0.4 per cent of UK land will be given up to solar farms.
But in Staffordshire, the hamlet of Drointon faces having 80 per cent of its surrounding area covered for the next 40 years.
Andrew Mynors, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Connectivity, said:
There is an obvious inequality in the system which is why we launched the Stop the Solar Land Grab campaign here in Staffordshire.
Government says that these huge solar farms – and the accompanying infrastructure – will be spread thinly around the country.
But the reality at Drointon shows that companies are trying to cluster solar farms in small areas because of easier grid connections, which makes a mockery of the Government’s guidelines.”
In a new letter to the minister, Andrew Mynors asks for:
- a breakdown of how solar land use will be distributed nationally;
- assurances that rural communities will not bear a disproportionate burden;
- details on plans to expand grid capacity and improve connectivity in more places;
- Government plans to improve and expand grid infrastructure for urban areas.
Andrew Mynors added:
If infrastructure is not developed then we will continue to see clusters forming in rural areas.
If we upgrade and expand grid infrastructure there will be more opportunities to develop solar in urban areas, including brownfield sites, industrial estates, rooftops, car parks, and other previously developed land.”
Staffordshire County Council’s Stop the Solar and Grab campaign focuses on the need for a coherent national strategy rather than the current apparent ad hoc expansion and is also concerned:
- that the majority of solar and battery storage applications appear to be from investors with no responsibility to the communities in which they will be based;
- about the long-term safety of these sites;
- that the majority of applications are on farmland and greenfield sites rather than in urban areas.
The campaign pledge and more information can be found at https://letstalk.staffordshire.gov.uk/solar-land
The text of the letter can be found at:
Solar land grab letter to ministers | Staffordshire County Council
