Top Staffordshire councillor calls on Government to stop 'solar grab' amid fears of land loss

Councillor Andrew Mynors, cabinet member for connectivity at Staffordshire County Council, called for a national policy to manage the growth of solar and other alternative energy, providing guidelines on how much of it should be permitted in each area.

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He said farmland across the county was increasingly being turned over to solar panels and battery-storage farms, and there was now a need for a national policy which also recognised how much land was needed for food production.

He said: "There is effectively a solar grab happening in Staffordshire, with planning applications for huge solar and battery farms to the eight different district and borough councils in Staffordshire without any central coordination."

He said this was a pattern that was being repeated across large parts of the country.

According to the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, there are a total of 60 proposed or actual solar or battery sites in Staffordshire. 

Of these 17 were operational already, 37 had been granted permission, and a further six were awaiting a planning decision. 

"Government is saying that we need energy self-sufficiency, but in a farming county like Staffordshire we also know the importance of food self-sufficiency," he said.

"If the Government can calculate how much extra energy we need to generate by 2050, it can work out how much land is needed for food for our population and we can allocate resources accordingly."

Councillor Mynors said there was a national policy for creating charging infrastructure for electric cars, but nothing to govern the spread of solar panels and their battery plants.

"It’s all being left to local councils and their communities to make decisions within a policy framework that isn’t fit for the job.”

Councillor Mynors said he was also concerned that the majority of solar and battery storage applications appeared to be from investors with no connection to the communities in which they would be based.

He also voiced concerns about the long-term safety of the sites. and the fact that the majority of applications were on farmland and greenfield sites rather than in urban areas such as rooftops, car parks or other industrial locations.

"Staffordshire will play its part in meeting the increasing energy needs of ‘UK plc’, but this should be done in a balanced, informed way which shares the responsibility even-handedly," he added.

"In the coming weeks and months we will be campaigning for Government to recognise the need for a common-sense, co-ordinated approach.”