Agenda item

To consider the attached motion from Cllrs Phil Alford and Nick Botterill.

On invitation of the Chairman Cllr Phil Alford proposed the motion as set out in the Summons, which was seconded by Cllr Nick Botterill.

 

Cllr Alford stated that the topic of solar farms had energised many people both for and against. He said solar panels could be a vital income for farmers and the council supported installations on its own buildings such as leisure centres, and as such was supportive of them in principle. He noted the proposed Lime Down solar proposal, which was of such a scale as to be deemed nationally significant, and he believed would engulf entire communities. He raised the importance of Wiltshire’s landscape heritage, the cumulative impact of roads and associated infrastructure to the many solar developments, as well as the need for food security, and that further clarity from government was needed.

 

Cllr Nick Botterill, being the seconder but also the relevant Cabinet Member as the Cabinet Member for Finance, Development Management, and Strategic Planning, responded to the motion. He said the motion was evidence based, noting the high population density of England, the need for preservation of the countryside, have sustainable food production and land management, and the need to balance these against the positives of solar energy production. He drew attention to the scale of the Line Down proposal, and how this would alter the character of a broad area to a more industrial one.

 

Statements were then received regarding the motion from the following Members of the Public:

 

Matthew Short, Phillip Addis, Peter Richardson, Sir Mike Pitt, Steve Holt, Mary Gilmore, Helen Hicks

 

The Chairman moved that the Council debate the motion, which was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

 

With Council agreeing to debate, and following comments from the Chairman drawing attention to statutory rules on predetermination in respect of non-determined planning applications, Group Leaders were then invited to comment on the motion.

 

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council, affirmed his support for solar panels and solar farms, criticising government policy which did not compel solar panels on new buildings, and the confusion of current planning policy. However, he also noted the importance of food production particularly given the impacts of climate change on production and migration, with a need to increase the food supply within the UK. He stated cumulative impact was critical, with many solar farms in Wiltshire and Lime Down one of the largest proposals even in the world, resulting in villages to be surrounded by industrial landscapes, and solar production should not be concentrated in farmland areas, with the motion intended to argue for a balanced approach.

 

Cllr Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, welcomed the motion but considered that it lacked detail in some important areas, and said it was a shame it had not been raised at an earlier stage so it could have been a key part of the Local Plan discussions. He stated his group had prepared amendments which he hoped would be accepted, to add detail to the motion.

 

Cllr Ernie Clark, Leader of the Independent Group, supported previous comments around the cumulative impacts and taking away fields from agricultural production, though he also pointed to such fields being assigned to be used for large numbers of housing as well.

 

Cllr Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, stated he would support the motion, and encouraged the public to lobby planning committees with their views and not just wait for action from central government.

 

The Chairman then opened the item for general debate.

 

Amendment Debate

At the start of the general debate an amendment was moved by Cllr Martin Smith, seconded by Cllr Dr Brian Mathew. This did not seek to amend any existing text to the motion, but sought to include the following additional paragraphs:

 

We would also urge the Secretary of State to provide more incentives to residents and businesses to install rooftop solar panels thus directly benefiting local people through reduced energy bills, whilst helping to achieve the 2030 targets for solar generation.

 

We also ask that the Government supports the Local Electricity Bill, which has been stalled in Parliament despite the support of 326 MPs, but which would remove some of the barriers to community energy projects, which again would directly benefit local communities and ensure a fairer transition to the new energy technology, focussing on generating energy closer to where it’s needed, thus reducing the need for huge schemes with lengthy connections.

 

We would also ask that a fully formed national strategy is established for solar farms, which balances the need of food security with the equally important need for energy security.

 

We would finally ask that consideration is given to introducing a national standard of community benefit, to be paid into local funds for community projects and combating energy poverty, of at least £1,000 per MW capacity, per annum for the life of solar projects of more than 15MW capacity.

 

Cllr Smith stated that the original motion was prompted by the pressure on agricultural land, and he supported the comments made about finding a balance between food production and energy generation, but that he considered that the motion could and should go further. He noted a recent statement from the Secretary of State acknowledging cumulative impact of solar developments, but this did not indicate how it should be considered. He proposed the amendment to encourage the Secretary of State to find more incentives to install rooftop solar, to urge support for the Local Electricity Bill which had been proposed in Parliament, for a national strategy for solar farms, and for a national standard of community benefit be considered, to be paid into local funds for community projects for the life of solar projects above a certain capacity.

 

As mover of the original motion Cllr Alford confirmed he was not prepared to accept the amendment as a friendly amendment.

 

Group Leaders were therefore asked to comment on the proposed amendment.

 

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council, stated some parts of the amendment made sense but he had concerns with some others, saying the Local Electricity Bill could have unintended consequences. He felt the amendment was well intentioned but more evidence was needed on some of its points.

 

Cllr Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, endorsed the proposed amendment as providing more detail and rigour to the original motion.

 

Cllr Ernie Clark, Leader of the Independent Group, stated the amendment appeared to be reasonable.

 

Cllr Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, supported the amendment as adding specific requests for the government to respond to in a positive way.

 

The amendment was then opened up to general debate.

 

Comments in support of the amendment included that it added appropriate detail and structure to the requests to government, noting the importance of high quality farming land, the importance of increasing renewable energy in a well planned way, and the cumulative impact from the number of solar farms developed or proposed in Wiltshire.

 

Other comments included that cumulative impact should already be able to be considered at planning stages when considering new solar farms, that reaching net zero targets would require difficult choices, and that the area of agricultural land covered by solar farms was very low, and with yields up this meant food production was not a sustainable reason to object to the solar farms.

 

There was then a break from 1255-1345.

 

Upon resuming the meeting Cllr Smith stated he had held discussions with the Leader of the Council and others, and agreed to withdraw his amendment to allow for cross-party discussions in the coming weeks to develop wording which would give effect to the intent of the amendments which could be collectively supported.

 

The meeting having consented to withdrawal of the amendment, debate resumed on the original motion.

 

Motion Debate

 

Comments in support of the motion included many comments in support of solar energy generally and solar farms, but concerns that the very large farms proposed were not appropriate in a country the scale of England let alone Wiltshire, and that it was appropriate to seek a more balanced approach taking account of the cumulative impact of so many solar energy developments being proposed in the county.

 

Other comments included that the world was in a climate crisis and the UK was not meeting vital decarbonisation targets set by law, that solar farms could be of assistance to farmers and were not of industrial character.

 

It was also commented that solar energy was of great importance particularly given the impacts of climate change, and even where there was support for the motion this should not be at the expense of appearing to criticise solar energy as a whole.

 

During debate it was also proposed by Cllr Howard Greenman to amend the motion to include specific reference to battery storage and associated infrastructure as follows:

 

Wiltshire Council therefore calls on the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to define more closely what is meant by ‘cumulative impact’ regarding solar farms, battery storage, and associated infrastructure and to take clear steps to ensure that solar developments are more evenly spread across the UK and not concentrated in specific areas effectively industrialising the countryside.

.

The mover and seconder of the motion accepted the alteration as a friendly amendment.

 

At the conclusion of the debate Cllr Botterill thanked everyone for their comments, noting the recent ministerial statement on solar farms as a reflection of the pressures and tensions on the issue. He reiterated support for solar energy, but that the cumulative impacts could not be disregarded.

 

Cllr Alford then had the opportunity to respond to the debate. He welcomed the contributions of Members and the public, and hoped the council was moving towards a consensus on the issue.

 

Following a vote, it was therefore,

 

Resolved:

 

Whilst not opposed to the principle of the development of solar farms in line with the National Planning Policy Framework this Council is increasingly concerned at the concentration of solar farms, battery storage and associated infrastructure in Wiltshire. Some villages are now completely surrounded by solar farms and their continued concentration represents a significant cumulative impact and industrialisation of the countryside.

 

Wiltshire Council therefore calls on the Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to define more closely what is meant by ‘cumulative impact’ regarding solar farms, battery storage, and associated infrastructure and to take clear steps to ensure that solar developments are more evenly spread across the UK and not concentrated in specific areas effectively industrialising the countryside.

 

We would also ask for clarity of the priority given to ensuring that food production and farming are not destroyed as industries in specific areas through an excessive concentration of solar farms given the massive impact that would have on the rural way of life in villages that have been farmed for time immemorial.

 

In accordance with the Constitution there was a recorded vote.

 

Votes for the motion (74)

Votes against the motion (2)

Votes in abstention (7)

 

Details of the recorded vote are attached to these minutes.