A planned huge solar farm for the area has taken a significant step forwards with submission of a formal application to build it.
The Meridian Action Group (MAG) opposes the proposed mega-solar development covering 1100-plus hectares of prime land stretching from Crowland to Gedney Hill impacting the communities of Cowbit, Shepeau Stow, Whaplode Drove, Holbeach St Johns, Holbeach Drove, Fleet and Gedney Hill.
The communities of Weston and Moulton would also be impacted by a pylon route leading to proposed massive substations at West Marsh.
The solar farm would be built on BMV land – the best and most versatile land for growing food. Some of it is grade 1 – the best land anywhere in the country.
MAG supports solar on brownfield, industrial, contaminated, previously-developed land and lower-quality land, as Ed Miliband has stated.
None of the above applies to most of the area for industrial-sized new energy infrastructure in Lincolnshire.
Meridian Solar’s submission will be considered by the Planning Inspectorate at an examination which will be held in public. Following this examination, the Inspector will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy who decides whether consent should be granted.
The process is likely to take over a year before a decision is reached.
MAG supports renewable energy but opposes Meridian Solar believing its location means the loss of valuable agricultural land so threatening food security. We believe that it is wrong to set food security against energy security.
David Rains, MAG member, said: “Industrialisation of some of the best food-growing land in the country is just wrong when solar should first of all be on rooftops and brownfield land. Ed Miliband himself has said these locations should be first choice. There is no evidence that, in this case, these other preferred locations have been sought.”
Andrew Malkin, MAG member, added: “If this goes ahead there will be thousands of acres of prime land buried, unproductive, beneath dead glass for the rest of our lives. A generation will never again see these fields green with vegetables or golden with corn. It’s a shameful waste when there are better alternatives for generating energy using renewables.”
MAG has a Facebook group where the progress of the submission for consent can be followed with relevant updates. MAG facebook group has approaching 800 members. You are encouraged to join the group to keep up-to-date – just search for MAG Facebook and apply to become a member.
Meridian Action Group
