Council Agrees to Fight Solar Farm Schemes

Posted by UK Property Forums on 14th July 2025 -

Members of Breckland Council have voted to fight vast solar projects planned for the area.

The full council unanimously approved a Save Our Countryside motion, winning cross-party support at a meeting on July 10.

Speaking after the meeting Cllr Fabian Eagle, ward member for Ashill, who proposed the motion, said: “While we recognise the importance of renewable energy production and the role solar farms play in this, we cannot allow our district and its villages to end up inside the UK’s biggest power station by area and for the district’s name to become associated with power production rather than as a beautiful geographical area.

“We’re not against solar farms in general, but we must make sure their locations are strategically considered and supported by local people, they don’t threaten essential farmland, and Norfolk doesn’t end up picking up the energy tab for the rest of the country.”

The vote means Breckland Council will oppose large-scale solar farm developments in the district that lack local support, threaten farmland and wildlife – or which fail to provide a local benefit.

Breckland’s members agreed to reaffirm support for local MPs George Freeman and Terry Jermy and Norfolk County Council’s position on solar farms which aligns with its position.

The group, alongside other Norfolk authorities, is calling for a more strategic and locally accountable approach to renewable energy development.

The council will also write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband to try to ensure planning decisions around solar farms and renewable energy are made locally, not in London, and take into account the views of local people.

Breckland is further calling for a review of energy distribution and infrastructure policy to ensure the district and county’s role in energy production for the UK puts it in line for further investment and protection is put in place for the environment and Norfolk’s landscapes.