Agenda item

Councillor Taylor presented a motion on solar farms and food security, seconded by Councillor Tierney. Councillor Taylor stated since 1 January to 1 June 2025 this Government has spent £649 million by having wind turbines switched off as the National Grid is at capacity and the volume of turbines switched off asks the question why is solar needed. He feels that if the turbines are turning constantly and cannot keep up then alternatives should be looked at but when turbines have been switched off and extra money is being paid to have them switched off then why is another energy supply required, which is all being undertaken in the name of Net Zero.

Councillor Taylor continued that Labour in its original manifesto stated that energy bills would be £200-£300 cheaper, however, the price cap will increase by another 2% from next month and the National Grid have stated that this is to afford to pay to have turbines switched off. He added that it has also been stated that a lot of these solar farms, wind farms, etc., are built in the wrong place to get power to where it is needed, with it being known that if you use extension leads the power is less at the end of the plug, which works the same with wind and solar.

Members made the following comments:

·       Councillor Summers thanked Councillor Taylor for agreeing to the amendments and stated that he supports the protection of BMV land.

·       Councillor Booth referred to Councillor Taylor mentioning some add-ons to media outlets and asked for these to be pointed out as part of the motion. Councillor Taylor stated that the additional outlets are Farmers to Action, The F in Farmer, Pro-Farmers United, Catherine Blaiklock and Rupert Lowe MP. Councillor Booth stated that it is important that members know exactly what they are voting on. He added that in principle he will be supporting this motion and one thing that is worth noting about food security is that this country has not been self-sufficient since the mid 18^th century and currently only about 60% of its food is produced in this country, it is obviously an aim to have food security but feels it will be a long time coming.

·       Councillor Christy expressed the opinion that it is a very important matter for Fenland but the only concern he has is that he does not feel the motion is strong enough, which relates to an all-party joint letter that was sent to the Prime Minister earlier this year and thinks this motion should be calling for the same sorts of things, an unequivocal ban on large area solar installations on best and most versatile (BMV) agricultural land, which as Councillor Taylor has described is Grades 1, 2 and 3A. He continued that they are also calling for the likely reduction of BMV land as a result of climate change, inclusion of ALC grade 3B in the BMV category and finally a policy promoting a rooftop first and brownfield first approach to siting solar installations at local, regional and national levels. Councillor Christy expressed the view that this would be much more stronger as words and in terms of who that letter should be taken to it should also include the Prime Minister, and supporting cross party MPs which includes the local MPs which are calling for that motion, which puts Fenland on the same playing field and the same level as what is being called for.

·       Councillor Count stated that he had not intended to speak on this motion as he felt it was straightforward and sensible being a big supported of green energy but recognising that agricultural land should be protected. He stated that he was shocked at what Councillor Taylor said in relation to up to £900 million being spent to turn wind turbines off, which he could not believe and he has Googled it and is shocked to find this is correct, a billion pound of taxpayers money was spent last year turning wind turbines off. Councillor Count continued the wording behind this was because of capacity grid constraints so he looked a bit further as to when will it get to the point where the grid can handle this and it will not as it is not just the capacity it is the wind speed when it goes from 25 to 35 mph it is turned off because there is too much fluctuation. He made the point that this is a permanent, ingrained problem with wind turbines that residents will be paying for forever more. Councillor Count stated that for his entire life since wind turbines have arrived he has looked out of his window and seen them all over the Fens and felt a real sense of warmth at thinking that they sit there and generate electricity and to learn something like this today really hurt his feelings. He added that he is not too concerned because he knows what is built and there might be places where it is more suitable, where they are closer to delivering without going through a substation that might not cope but this is about prime land and he had the privilege of leading the County Council for a while and was proud of what happened there with building solar farms, which delivered great savings to the taxpayer but when the policy was written he was insistent that they never be built on Grade 1 agricultural land but he is not sure if that is still policy there today. Councillor Count expressed the view that he believes in taking a measured approach and one of the measured approaches to talk about is food security, which is an issue and he takes on board what Councillor Booth said in that there has not been 100% food security since the 18^th century but when you have a problem, even if it has gone on for 200 years, it should not be allowed to get worse but recognise there is a problem and not make it get any worse and all security issues should be been thought about and it is vital that matters are addressed such as this. He referred to an old farmers saying you can’t grow any more land and that is true, Grade 1 land cannot be reinvented elsewhere and Fenland has the perfect soil for growing, which should be protected. Councillor Count stated that he appreciated the widening of the brief to say that planning should be used appropriately to protect the land from inappropriate development because it is not just energy, what happens when somebody makes a great case for 100,000 square metre distribution plant on Grade 1 agricultural land and there has to be that widening of the clause so somebody does not skirt around the edges and land is lost that way. He referred to the continued belief that rewetting of the wild Fens will bring it down to net zero, with some people promoting flooding the area losing all the Grade 1 agricultural land because it will somehow help the planet with net zero and, in his view, that is unrealistic. Councillor Count stated that he knows that members need to work within the NPPF and one of the most useful clauses added by Councillor Summers was ‘within our means’ so that the Council can do what is within its power as well as writing to other people so he does support this motion.

·       Councillor Hoy referred to energy security as she feels often a number of people and herself have been scared to say what they have been thinking for a long time and she thinks now is the time to say that net zero is a complete scam as the future that is being left for people is everyone is going to get colder and poorer because people cannot afford to pay the prices of energy bills and whilst everyone blames Russia and Ukraine the truth is that this country has subsidized for years things that do not work, such as turbines that do not turn. She feels that the world is getting worse due to decisions that have been made in the past and it cannot carry on, with the next thing that will be said is that food will not be grown in this country anymore as it is cheaper to import it, on a plane which uses fossil fuels, with everything being said by politicians at a national level not adding up. Councillor Hoy expressed the opinion that something is not right to be told on the one hand that the world is going to end in a few years’ time unless carbon emissions are reduced and then paying to import food from other countries on aeroplanes that give out carbon emissions, which does not seem right to her. She stated that she supports the motion and wishes that the Council goes further.

·       Councillor Carney stated that he supports the motion and the important thing to remember is that at this point in time the power does lie within the hands of the local planning authorities. He referred to South Kesteven District Council refusing a solar farm citing the exact same reasons as are being talked about today and this was backed up by Lincolnshire County Council, whether this got through on appeal he is not aware but the point remains that the local planning committee should take a measured approach on each application as they are submitted. Councillor Carney expressed the view that generally from a planning point of view is whether it is so necessary to have solar panels and solar farms, Councillor Christy mentioned brownfield sites and he would suggest either nationally or locally on any sort of large scale building scheme, such as warehouses, supermarkets, etc., which has a large roof space either by encouragement or making it compulsory, although he would suggest encouragement, that they have them fitted with solar panels and have them feed into the local generating network. He referred again to South Kesteven which is not on Grade 1 land but they cited it was Grade 2/Grade 3 farmland and they said it was rare, being productive land and as has been mentioned before you cannot make any more of it.

·       Councillor Tierney stated that he is a free marketeteer and believes if markets are free to run and not controlled they deliver good results and his problem with turbines and solar panels is that if all the subsidies were removed and they compete fair and square nobody would ever invest and ever build turbines or solar panels, except in a very few specialist circumstances. He continued that they only exist because Governments have made, in his view, this terrible, stupid blind policy of net zero, which he feels is the second most dangerous policy after the challenge to freedom of speech and the previous Government and this Government are all following the same stupid path. Councillor Tierney stated he agrees with everything that Councillor Hoy said, this is so damaging to remove Fenland’s fantastic growing land and the ability to produce the food needed and the farmers that produce it and replace it with energy generation which would never be built without the fudges that are put in by the Government. He stated that whether all members agree with him that net zero is damaging he feels that it can be agreed that the farmland is needed to produce the way it should.

·       Councillor Taylor, in summing up, stated that, in relation to solar farms and panels, the steel is imported from Turkey and the panels themselves are imported from China on ships that use approximately 20,000 litres of diesel per hour and that is called net zero, which does not add up to him. He expressed the view that if the whole of the EU was 100% net zero from 2020, by 2050 the climate would be 0.02 degrees warmer, almost an unmeasurable amount, and by the turn of the century it would be 1 degree warmer at the cost of trillions of pounds for something which cannot be achieved. Councillor Taylor thanked members for their comments and hopefully the support of the motion.

The motion was approved.

(Councillor J Clark declared that he is a landowner in March)

(Councillors Benney, S Clark, Mrs French, Gerstner, Imafidon, Marks, Meekins, Murphy, Patrick, Purser and Rackley declared that they were either substantive or substitute members of the Planning Committee and took no part in the discussions and voting thereon)

(Councillor Mrs Laws declared that she is Portfolio Holder for Planning and took no part in the discussion or voting thereon)

(Councillor Wallwork was not present in the room when the voting took place)