Land Use

It is so important to understand that we do not oppose solar farms, they are an important part of helping us to become net zero. However, a clean, green future is all about balance and this means putting the right schemes in the right places.  Location is everything.

Greenpeace themselves have opposed some solar schemes on grounds of “industrialising of the countryside”.

The government first published its Solar PV roadmap and strategy in 2013 setting out the guiding principles for deployment of solar within the UK.  Within it, they stated developers should ensure proposals are appropriately sited and give proper weight to environmental considerations such as landscape and visual impact, heritage and local amenity.  It also states that solar should focus on non-agricultural land or low-grade land.  We believe Eden farm is inappropriately sited when considering this criteria.

In the UK all farmland is graded 1-5 for Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) according to government guidelines, to ensure we protect valuable grade 1, 2 & 3a or Best and Most Versatile (BMV) land. These guidelines ensure we protect our future by ensuring we keep BMV land available to grow food, otherwise we will be forced to import it, which is far from green.  According to Harmony Energy’s own Land Classification Survey, the proposed development at Eden Farm has been classed as 62.5% BMV land.  Both the National Planning Policy Framework and the Ryedale Local Plan state that development on BMV land should be resisted.

The demand on land is significant.  The government are currently reviewing their Land Use Strategy and DEFRA has said they are intending to review the land use categories with regard to solar development, in order to make the best use of our land.  We hope to see some positive outcomes from this in early 2023.

We have provided evidence to the relevant Land Use Select Committees.

Food Security

Food security is vital for the UK. We import 45% of our food.  In 2019 it cost £11.5 billion to import just fruit and vegetables. We are losing good quality land due to pressure from industrialisation, plus residential and infrastructure demands.  If we don’t protect our farmland, we will import even more of what we eat. The world is going to struggle to produce more food particularly as climate change takes effect.  Here is an interesting article from the House of Commons library about Food Security.

UK land loss to UK agriculture has been assessed at 40,000 hectares (almost 100,000 acres) a year and rising.  Food supply chains are fragile.  This has been well illustrated by the pandemic, Brexit and the recent shortage of lorry drivers.

Our land is finite, it must be used in the right way.  Farmers support biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and a host of other public good services. Farmland acts as a carbon sink and is an important part of the UK’s national renewable energy supply.
Here is a link to the NFU Statement for Food Security.

As the proposed scheme is the largest by far in Ryedale, on good quality land, if planning is granted, this sets a precedent, the consequences of which will be far-reaching and devastating.  Remember Harmony Energy has tested 530 acres in this area.  We must not allow the floodgates to be opened.

Financially driven

Developers like Harmony Energy promote the cheapest solutions only and do not consider a range of feasible options.

Incomes to landowners and developers are vast.  Landowners earn up to £1200 per acre, per year, index-linked.  The financial attractiveness to both landowners and developers is clear and it is this, rather than concern for the environment, that is driving the expansion in solar developments. What cannot be quantified is the unquantifiable effect on biodiversity and the scale of crops/food lost.

There are around 1000 solar applications under consideration in the UK at this time! This does not take into account applications in pre-planning and most worryingly, BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) do not monitor the quality of land lost to solar developments.  If something is not measured, it is not seen.

If we truly want a sustainable future, we must look closely at the bigger picture and make sure we do not make poor short-term decisions.

Renewable energy is essential and solar has a part to play, in the right place, which is poor grade land (grades 4 and 5) of low environmental value, commercial roof space and brownfield sites.

The UK Warehousing Association have recently launched their report on rooftop solar.  It verifies the potential of warehouse rooftops, which urgently needs unlocking to help stop the land grab.  It can be viewed here  https://www.shdlogistics.com/sustainability/warehouse-rooftop-solar-panels-save-billions-says-ukwa