Labour abandons Tory pledge not to build solar farms on food-growing fields

Rules that were put in place in order to prevent development of new solar farms on quality farmland is set to be withdrawn in Labour’s bid towards net zero. 
 
Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has said that she will be scrapping most of the reforms initiated under the Tory brigade for the facilitation of the green energy projects. 
 
The change is amongst the most sweeping set of revisions to England’s laws on planning that the Government has claimed is needed to boost growth. 
 
It follows the Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, ignoring officials to approve Britain’s largest solar farm on greenbelt. 
 
These are Mr. Rayner who has overall responsibility of the planning rules and has moved for changes that will see more building in the countryside. 
 
They include seen measures that require councils to consider the food security when considering green energy projects. 
 
Here, identify why family farms are threatened. 
 
The increase in the establishment of solar projects across the country is good for the landlords, but has a negative impact on most tenants. 
 
One of those is Andrew Dakin who farms beef cattle on Kidsley Park Farm in Derbyshire, 110-acre farm, where his family has been engaged in farming from 1920s. 
 
Now the freeholders of the land want the land to be used for a solar farm, and have applied to the local council to do so; therefore, the applicant together with his cows would have to move out. 
 
Their logic is quite clear, the problem is that due to the net zero goals green energy companies are able to offer much more than the tenant farmers can earn. 
 
However, since 33% of all farmed land in England is farmed by the tenant farmer, it means most of the potential most agriculturally productive land in England is at the mercy of the developers. 
 
In its present standing, councils such as the one in Mr Dakin’s locality must factor in the fact that the land was agricultural in nature when deciding. 
 
However, with the actual suggestion to do away with those safeguards by Labour, it shows that many more smaller solar farms are likely to be approved in the future. 
 
The current rules state: “The location of agricultural land employed in farming of foods should also be taken into account… because it would be appropriate to define which locations are the most suitable for development. 
 
The term was floated by Rishi Sunak’s government last December to fight the invasion of solar farms that are emerging on the best-quality agricultural land. 
 
A new draft version of the National Planning Policy Framework recently released by the department controlled by Ms Rayner proves that the sentence has been erased. 
 
Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said: “Our good farmland should not used for those very huge solar farms but rather should be used in producing food. 
 
That’s why I took changes in the federal government to safeguard the best land for agriculture and changing the rules to enable people to install panels on rooftops. 
 
However, in his first few weeks, Ed Miliband has authorized thousands of acres of arable land, for installation of solar panels, to fulfill his expensive climate change objectives. 
 
“We cannot gamble with our food supply or inflate energy costs for the sake of Labour’s tired climate hobby horse. ” 
 
Impact on food production 
 
It follows Mr Miliband’s previous decisions to overrule planning inspectors to allow a solar farm and energy storage complex of an area of 2,792-acre of good agricultural land in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. 
 
This decision was made after the planning inspectorate advice him against the project due to the effects it could have on food production. 
 
In the next official report, the officials went straight to compiling the alterations that Mr Sunak has made to the rules which included this as an objection. 
 
In response to this, Mr Miliband pointed out that he held the view that the exigency to manufacture more green energy supersedes the loss of food production which he said was effectively permanent. 
 
He also agreed two other locations, they are in Lincolnshire and are planned to occupy about 2,000 acres each; however, it was protested by the local people and councillors. 
 
Out came proposed changes to planning rules which have been approved for consultation and Ms Rayner is expected to make the final call on them this autumn. 
 
Should she proceed and implement the change as is expected whereby the safeguard for agricultural land are to be lifted then future approval of solar farms would be became easier. 
 
The planning framework will still consist of policy stating that ‘Where possible considerations as to the location of development should be such that inferior classes of land should be taken preferential to superior classes of land’.