Grass not Glass

We are in a major fight. With the growing number (and size) of solar farms encroaching on our landscape and productive farmland, we have taken on a hydra. Here in Devon, as elsewhere, a rash of huge solar farm applications is raining down on Local Planning Authorities.

Will you help us campaign against massive solar farms being planted across some of the world’s best agricultural land – land that could and should be making a far bigger contribution to carbon reduction than inefficient solar technology?

Devon CPRE is a small independent charity that urgently needs your help. Across the country, developers are jumping on a bandwagon that makes it easy to persuade local planning committees to grant permission for ‘medium-sized’ solar farms of around 160 acres – each one the size of an average West Country farm.

For instance, last year we tried to overturn permission for a 164-acre solar development in the north Devon district of Torridge; The controversial application had been given the go-ahead by Torridge District Council in November 2021 despite a strong campaign by Devon CPRE and residents of the rural parish of Pyworthy, including actor John Nettles OBE. Torridge councillors had voted 5:4 to follow their Planning Officer’s recommendation to allow the 164-acre solar farm in Pyworthy, NW Devon. Permission was granted despite extensive local opposition: more than 200 letters of objection were received from a parish of less than 400 households, and only a tiny handful in favour. Sadly, we were not successful, but we would like to thank everybody who made a donation to help towards the costs. We are incredibly grateful. But this case is only the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. The Pyworthy solar farm is an interesting example. There are already five operational solar farms in the area. The deck is stacked against communities like Pyworthy, because solar farms like to share their grid access points: where there is one, more follow. As this one is now going ahead, 28 more fields will now be lost and there will be an acre of solar panels for every household in the tiny parish. To view our film, click here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFgM5hO2e1Y

Please read on to find out how your support can help us protect our precious farmland, landscapes and natural environment.

Developers tell us that covering thousands of acres in glass, metal and concrete is a good, ‘green’ use of our farmland. But these developments are a highly inefficient use of farmland and an ineffective way to produce sustainable power in our cloudy climate. And there is strong evidence that the majority of the solar panels on the market are made using Uyghur forced labour in Chinese factory complexes.

Across Devon, more than 4300 acres of agricultural land – the equivalent of 30 farms – have already been lost to solar development. Yet still, the applications come thick and fast, not just in Devon but across the whole country. Untold acres of productive land in the UK have been lost at a time when they are badly needed for food security. We should be producing homegrown food instead of relying on importing it from across the world, with all the carbon emissions that entails. We should be supporting our farmers to produce food in a more sustainable way, rather than taking land out of production. Well-farmed land with a mix of arable and livestock is the best form of carbon-capture we’ve yet discovered.

Throughout Devon, more of our precious farmland is under threat from solar farms.

Devon CPRE lead the way in opposing these schemes, helping local communities protect their valuable farmland. But these campaigns cost a lot of money.

An important democratic principle is at stake in this David-versus-Goliath-type-scenario – small rural communities and a local countryside charity, versus councils that should be required to act in the interests of their residents and according to their own policies, and international corporations with deep pockets and big ambitions.

Can you support us in this vital campaign?

We know there are many other demands on your purse at this time of year. But we have to act and act fast, before it’s too late. Anything you can give will really help us. Please, donate. If you are a UK taxpayer, by pledging Gift Aid to us as a registered charity every pound you give is worth an extra 25p.

We’d love to have you with us for the long haul

Thank you for helping us with this campaign. If you want to support Devon CPRE in our fight to protect the environment and our countryside, why not become a member? It costs just £60 a year for individuals and membership has many benefits. Find out more at https://www.cpredevon.org.uk/membership/

Thank you!

Devon Solar Farm Map

Solar Farms recently in planning include:

East Devon:
Land at Beavor Grange Farm, Axminster- reference 21/2992/MFUL – 69 acres. Permitted
Land adjacent to Peradon Farm, Clyst Hydon. Reference 21/3120/MFUL – 174 acres. Permitted.
Land at Marsh Green, Reference 22/0990/MFUL – 177 acres Permitted.
Land east of Rutton Farm, Whimple – 22/0783/MFUL – 174 acres. Permitted.
Torridge
Coldharbour Farm Ashreigney Chulmleigh – reference 1/0823/2021/FULM – 147 acres Permitted.

Webbery Barton & Cleave Farm, nr Bideford – reference 1/1057/2021/FULM 156 acres Permitted

Mid Devon
Langford, near Cullompton – Public Inquiry, June 2022 Permitted. 150 acres.

What developers don’t tell you about solar farms

We campaign to stop huge solar developments swallowing up the county’s productive farmland. And here we explain why we oppose so-called renewable energy.

In June 2022, we took part in two significant legal challenges against contested solar farms in this neck of the woods: a Public Inquiry on June 14th into Langford solar farm in Mid Devon, followed by a Judicial Review on June 22nd into the Derril Water site at Pyworthy near Holsworthy, which Torridge District Council approved despite overwhelming opposition from residents and parish councils.

Our small organisation is currently fighting a rash of solar farm proposals the length and breadth of our county, but these two planning applications could prove to be ‘test cases’ for many others in the future.

At a time of rising energy bills and the wider cost-of-living crisis, you might ask why Devon CPRE so vehemently opposes such developments? Renewable energy companies would have us believe that covering our farmland in solar panels is a good thing, a panacea for our problems, and people are often surprised that we – as an environmental charity – don’t support the uncontrolled rush to cover productive farmland with glass and metal. Surely, solar is ‘green’, they say. And produces cheap electricity. We beg to differ. Renewables aren’t all they’re made out to be, and here’s why.

For starters, there’s the issue of food security. If we carry on as we are, very soon we will no longer be able to produce enough home-grown food and will become increasingly reliant on imports – whatever the cost. This is about much more than our fields looking green and pretty. It’s about the very real risk of an ever-increasing reliance on food that’s travelled halfway around the world. If the Ukraine war has taught us anything, it’s that supplies of any commodity can’t be guaranteed and that reduced availability pushes up prices.

Energy companies like building solar on farmland. Why? Because it’s cheap, easy and lucrative. They would have us believe that the energy they produce is also cheap. Don’t be deluded by wishful thinking – it’s not the case. Put simply, solar and wind power are NOT, and never will be, stand-alone forms of electricity generation in this country. Every inch of Devon’s countryside could be covered in solar panels and wind turbines but – because they rely on the weather – they still wouldn’t supply a constant, reliable source of electricity. In fact, the more consumers rely on unpredictable renewables, the more they will pay for electricity. This is because controllable gas-fired power stations are needed to balance the grid 24/7 to keep supply matching demand. Nuclear power stations and gas-fired power stations all need to be available to operate on cold, dark and still winter days when wind and solar together produce negligible amounts of electricity.

Finally, what about the ethical considerations of an increasing reliance on solar farms? The uncomfortable truth is that solar panels contain all manner of toxic substances and are often produced using forced labour in China.

As we prepare to fight our corner and fight for Devon’s countryside this month in the courts of law, the company behind the Pyworthy scheme, Renewable Energy Systems Limited (RES), has submitted a fresh application for the site. This duplicate planning application seems to us a ‘cynical ploy’ to play both the planning and the legal system.

Make no mistake, decisions made now will set a precedent for the future of the solar industry in this country. Developers are only interested in profit – don’t take their claims at face value.