‘This isn’t NIMBYism, it’s about protecting our area and employment!’ Calls for the Fens to become a protected area amidst swathes of solar farm projects

A councillor wants the Fens to become a protected area in a bid to ensure the country won’t be ‘held hostage’ by food imported from abroad.

South Holland District Council’s Coun Laura Eldridge put forward the motion hoping it can help our agricultural heartland avoid being swamped by solar farms and pylons.

SHDC leader Nick Worth has backed the idea, which will be discussed at tomorrow’s (Wednesday, October 2) full council meeting, stating the country ‘needs to be more self sufficient’.

“With us being the bread basket of the country, a predominantly agricultural, horticultural area, and with having the best agricultural land in the country, I think it’s really important that we protect that moving forward,” said Coun Eldridge, who has accused the Government of ‘pushing through’ a series of planning applications from energy companies that would see our land taken up by solar farms and pylons.

“It’s important to protect everything we’ve got. The population is increasing and we need to ensure we can support our own population as opposed to being held hostage to food being imported from abroad.”

Coun Eldridge - who represents The Saints ward - has put forward the motion calling for the preservation of Fenland landscape and recognition of South Holland as a critical food producing area.

The motion urges national authorities and infrastructure project planners to recognise the importance of the Fenland landscape and South Holland’s role as a food-producing area, as well as calling for strategies that minimise the visual and ecological impact of infrastructure developments and calls for infrastructure to balancing the need to preserve our natural and agricultural heritage.

“This isn’t NIMBYism, it’s about our heritage and protecting our area and employment for the future,” Coun Eldridge added.

“We’ve got such a huge employment in agriculture and horticulture that if the land gets taken away the jobs go as well.”

Among the applications in and around Coun Eldridge’s ward are the Meridian Solar Farm and the 140.5 hectare Sutton St Edmund application as well as a proposed application for Sutton St James.

“With the Meridian application, it’s not just the solar panels, it’s the massive pylons associated with it,” Coun Eldridge added.

“There are other ways we can produce green energy, and it’s also concerning that these we’re being told these are temporary.

“They last for 40 years, and when another 40 years has gone for me I’ll be 78. But that’s before the application’s approved, the construction, deconstruction.

“And we’ve still not had statistics telling us how the land’s going to be left once they are decommissioned.”

What do you think of the idea? Let us know in the comments below…