The Government has introduced greater protections for agricultural land from excessive solar development following campaign by Rutland and Melton MP.

Alicia Kearns MP has been campaigning against a proposed solar farm of over 2,000 acres across the Rutland-Lincolnshire border for three years, and the government has, this May, published a statement setting out protection for agricultural land - a huge milestone for rural counties such as Rutland.

On 15 May 2024, the Government published a written statement setting out extra protection for agricultural land from excessive solar development.

The Government will put in place these protections by:

• Discouraging solar development on agricultural land.
• Putting the quality of farmland at the centre of planning decisions.
• Recording land type used for solar developments to monitor cumulative impact.
• Prioritising solar on rooftops.
• Ensuring all land categorisations and soil assessments are done by accredited surveys.

Alicia Kearns, Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, said:

"For three years I have campaigned for greater protections for our agricultural land to protect our food production, security and rural communities. Over the last few months alone, I have led debates, held meetings with Ministers in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs and the Chief Whip to make this case, so I am relieved that a number of my suggestions have been adopted.

"These rules will ensure we put more solar on rooftops and non-agricultural land, so that we go green and work hard to do so, in the right way."

Find out more about Mallard Pass Solar Farm and the MP's recent parliamentary petition against the development here.

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