Gazette and Herald, Karen Darley, 9th March
A campaign to prevent a solar panel development near Old Malton is being taken to the House of Commons this week.
The Save Old Malton Countryside campaign, founded by Robert and Emma Sturdy, has helped to form the nationwide Solar Campaign Alliance, which has now secured a government debate today (Wednesday).
Over the past year Robert and Emma learnt that, throughout the country, there are many other groups also trying to protect agricultural land from solar panel development.
The couple, who live on the 280-acre Eden Farm near Old Malton, with their children Sebastian and Lizzie, are campaigning to save a 130 acres area earmarked for the project.
Yorkshire-based Harmony Energy is considering submitting a proposal to Ryedale District Council to build a solar farm with battery energy storage on land owned by the Fitzwilliam Trust Corporation.
The development would see the installation of more than 90,000 free-standing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with the capacity to generate up to 50MW of low carbon electricity, enough to supply more than 14,000 homes
Emma said: “It soon became clear there were many other people facing similar problems to us.
“There are thousands of applications across the UK and that means thousands of acres of food-producing fields could be lost to solar.
“The scale of good farmland in the planning system is vast and applications should not be viewed in isolation. An Alliance has been formed, made up of people who fully support renewables, but who are passionate about making sure the applications are properly regulated and that we protect our farmland, our countryside, our rural communities and our food security. We are delighted that lobbying from the Alliance, together with the help of all our respective MPs, we have secured a parliamentary debate to discuss this hugely important issue.”
Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton said: “Government guidance is quite clear that solar developments should not be deployed on best and most versatile land. As 70% of the land in question is in this category, the application should be rejected and I can confirm that the Farming Secretary and the NFU share this view. I will continue to support Emma and Rob’s campaign and press for clearer guidance across the board.”
The nationwide petition to protect farmland from solar development has already gathered around 5,000 signatures. The petition can be found at: