Nearly two-thirds of England’s largest solar farms have been built on productive agricultural land, with a third of their area sited on the nation’s most valuable farmland, according to a damning new report from countryside charity CPRE.
The charity’s analysis of 38 mega-scale solar farms – each generating more than 30MW – reveals that 59% are located on farmland, despite planning rules meant to protect such areas. Alarmingly, 827 hectares of Grade 1-3a land, classified as ‘best and most versatile’ (BMV), have been taken out of food production, equivalent to about 1,300 football pitches.
Three of the developments — at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire, Goosehall in East Cambridgeshire, and Black Peak Farm in South Cambridgeshire — are sited entirely on BMV land.
CPRE is now calling on the government to shift solar development away from green fields and onto rooftops, car parks and brownfield sites, warning that continued loss of prime agricultural land threatens UK food security at a time of increasing global uncertainty.
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