Council leader hits back in solar farm land debate

Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill told BBC Radio Lincolnshire's Frances Finn there were several applications for solar farms on good quality land

The leader of Lincolnshire County Council has hit back at claims only low-grade farmland will be used for solar farms.

The founder of renewable energy company Ecotricity Dale Vince said "there really isn't a clash with food production" and "the land that we build solar on is good for grazing but that's about it".

However, council leader Martin Hill said developers were "queuing up to have more solar farms" and several applications were for "good quality land".

The government said it "encourages" the use of non-agricultural land.

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince dismissed criticisms of solar farms as "a lot of fuss"

Five large solar farms have already been approved for Lincolnshire with nine more awaiting a decision.

Last week the government approved one at Heckington Fen, which is being developed by Ecotricity.

The council's executive member for environment, economy and planning, Colin Davie, said "trashing the countryside" by putting "ginormous industrial developments" on agricultural land had "caused much local outrage".

The 7000 Acres campaign group said it was "fighting to protect the countryside from mass industrialisation".

However, Mr Vince dismissed the criticisms as "a lot of fuss".

"It's mandated that you can't build a solar farm on the best land in our country. It has to be grade three or lower," he said.

He added that "less than 1% of Lincolnshire's land area" will be taken up with the five projects already approved.

Martin Hill says high quality farmland is at risk from solar farms

Agricultural land is graded for its quality, with grade one being the most fertile and productive.

Taking questions on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Hill said Mr Vince's comments were "totally incorrect" and added "they are queuing up to have more solar farms" in the county, which he said would "be industrialised".

"We would love it if the government said these developments could only be on low-quality land but that's not government policy at the moment," he said.

"There are applications in the Fens, on the Cambridgeshire border, on good quality land."

Five large solar farms have been approved for Lincolnshire

Energy Minister Ed Miliband wants to accelerate solar farm applications and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to end so-called Nimby – "not in my back yard" – challenges to large infrastructure projects.

At the same time, Lincolnshire County Council has threatened legal action over what it called "the accumulation effect" of solar farms and plans for a new line of pylons through the county.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the policy was to encourage the use of alternatives to farmland.

It said anyone wanting to build solar farms on agricultural land should be able to show it is necessary and that poorer quality land was first considered.

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