Senior Tory's plan to block mega solar farms on prime agricultural land

The Government has said: “The biggest threat to agriculture and nature is the climate crisis.”

A senior Tory is attempting to change the law to ban solar farms from being built on Britain’s most productive farmland.

Victoria Atkins, the Shadow Environment Secretary, is trying to change the policy via a private members’ bill, which is where MPs outside of Government can propose laws.

Speaking at a Conservative Environment Network fringe at the party’s conference in Birmingham, Ms Atkins said: “After 11 years of being a Member of Parliament, I have finally won a place in the private members' ballot.

“My private members' bill is to ban solar estates, as I call them, on prime agricultural land.

“Climate change is happening. Of course, we must explore other forms of renewable energy.

“Solar is one of them, but it has to be in the right place. We have to have that balance.”

Ms Atkins received a rousing cheer and applause from the audience as she urged them to lobby their MPs to back the bill.

“I want to put as much pressure on this government to get serious about food security because that land, if it's prime agricultural land, should be used to grow food, not solar panels.”

Last year, CPRE, the countryside charity, revealed that 59 per cent of England's largest operational solar farms are located on productive farmland, while almost a third cover the nation’s ‘best and most versatile’ (BMV) agricultural land.

It said the concentration of high-quality farmland in eastern England has created a corresponding cluster of applications to build mega solar farms.

This has been especially noticeable in North and East Yorkshire, where easy access to the grid is like “gold dust” for firms.

Despite local objections, the Government granted permission for a solar farm the size of the city of Durham, to power 100,000 homes, to be built in the East Riding.

Earlier in the year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to block communities from using legal action to halt mega solar farms - such as the controversial Whitestone project in South Yorkshire - except in the narrowest of circumstances.

Whitestone, which is three huge solar farms across Conisburgh and Rotherham, is one of the most controversial, and has been objected to by the new Chancellor John Healey, Labour’s Rother Valley MP Jake Richards and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard.

Initially planned for a whopping 3,500 acres producing 750MW, the firm has now reduced the size to around 2,900 acres, however it would still avoid judicial review under the plans.

Solar Energy UK, the sector’s trade body, said that these farms take up less than 0.1 per cent of the UK as a whole.

A spokesperson added: “We are dealing with a very small amount of land. It cannot possibly have any meaningfully negative impact on food security.”

Ms Atkins’ announcement was the latest at a conference which has had a heavy focus on food and farming.

The Tories unveiled plans to scrap Natural England and the Environment Agency to free farmers from regulation.

Shadow Farming Minister and Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore told The Yorkshire Post: “This is stage one for us as far as I see, looking at what is effective as far as the machinery of Defra [the Environment Department] working.

“We're looking at potentially changing the measurables associated with public good, so it is not just about environmental measurables, but measurables associated with driving food productivity.

“That hopefully, with a combination of packages, as well as getting the machinery of Defra working, will drive not only better decision making, but empower our private businesses associated with growth.”

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “The biggest threat to agriculture and nature is the climate crisis.

"It is one of the cheapest and quickest forms of energy to build, helping get bills down for good."