Cornish Guardian (Bodmin & East Cornwall)
Of agricultural land to solar farms
“Locally we’ve experienced a year of heatwaves followed by a year of record rainfall and floods. This is just a foretaste of the legacy we’ve baked in for our children and grandchildren. The greatest threat to food security and farming is, of course, climate change.”
He said that research by Exeter University has recently concluded that onshore wind and solar could provide enough electricity to power all the households in England twoand-a-half times over using less than 3% of the land.
“Food security has become the last refuge of the nimby,” the Liberal Democrat councillor for St Teath and Tintagel added.
Farmer and Liberal Democrat councillor Adrian Parsons said: “Of course, food security is important but I, for one, know it also needs to be profitable. My best arable land for the last seven years hasn’t produced food for human consumption.
“Instead, the Government pays me to grow crops, not to harvest, but to rot in the fields for the birds and wildlife. It’s actually my most profitable crop and I get great satisfaction seeing the wealth of wildlife thriving in this habitat.
“Interestingly, saying solar panels take land out of agricultural production isn’t the case. I have an acre of solar panels and the sheep love them – in the winter they give shelter and in the summer they give shade, and this is the most profitable acre on the farm. It provides not just me with electricity but most of the settlement where I live. Energy security should not be dismissed.
“As far as I’m concerned the land hasn’t been lost, it’s still there – these are temporary structures that can be removed at any point, turning the land back into its original state. I worry what sort of message this sends out to those who are potentially looking to invest in Cornwall.”
❝❝ The greatest threat to food security and farming is, of course, climate change Cllr Dominic Fairman
Cllr Parsons added: “Be careful what you wish for. As for the grade of land, 1 or 2 should be ruled out but Grade 3 land in the right place should be fine. I know from my own experience that most Grade 4 land is either too steep, too wet or too boggy to even be suitable for solar. So effectively, if you say you don’t want solar on Grade 3 land you’re saying you don’t want solar.”
Following a number of other speakers, the contentious debate was cut short due to the length of the meeting, with many more councillors unable to comment. Members voted in favour to support the motion. It will cost the council around £30,000 to commission the proposed report.
Carland Action Group held a public meeting at St Erme Community Centre last month to discuss a planning application by Downing Renewable Developments LLP for a 210-acre solar park application, Fairpark, in a rural valley at Hendra near Mitchell, between Carland Cross and Landrine. More than 100 people attended with many residents airing their fears about the development.
Concerns were also raised about similar-sized solar farms in the same area – two, at Burthy Row, Fraddon, and Tregonning at Dairyland, which have already been approved, and a third at Trelion, St Stephen, which is at the pre-planning stage. Opponents say the solar panels at all four parks could cover 900 acres over a five-mile radius.