'Hands off our land - farms are for growing food': Council in campaign against solar energy on farmland
Residents and community groups are being urged to back a campaign to prevent more solar energy businesses from setting up on farmland in Staffordshire.
The county council's connectivity chief Councillor Andrew Mynors has called on communities to put their names to a new petition pushing for balanced land use to retain enough for food production and for future generations following a rise in the number of commercial-sized solar panel and battery farms in Staffordshire.
Staffordshire County Council said there is a need for a national strategy to cope with an increase in proposals for such enterprises to regulate how much land is needed for food compared to energy production.
Councillor Mynors said: "We absolutely support renewable energy - but not when it threatens the farmland that puts food on our tables. We need a balanced approach that protects both food and energy security, not one which prioritises one over the other.
"I have spoken to the communities affected by these applications. They feel overwhelmed and it is not fair that they are left to navigate complex planning processes on their own.
