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Prime farmland will be lost
The land proposed for the solar site is high quality and should be used to produce food.
The land proposed for the solar site is high quality and should be used to produce food.
The land proposed for the solar site is high quality and should be used to produce food.
The land is mainly grade 2 and 3a. Government policy is not to use grade 1 to 3b farmland for solar development. So why are RES proposing this plan and on what grounds would East Suffolk Council approve it? We have a section on the relevant East Suffolk policies here
Losing the land means we will need to import even more food from abroad
The land proposed for the solar site is high quality and should be used to produce food.
The land proposed for the solar site is high quality and should be used to produce food.
We already import large quantities of food from abroad and the Ukraine war has led to less supply and higher prices. It makes no sense to take our fertile farmland out of production.
There is no alternative to prime farmland but there are alternative places to put solar panels
There is no alternative to prime farmland but there are alternative places to put solar panels
There is no alternative to prime farmland but there are alternative places to put solar panels
The RES proposal removes farmland from production for at least 40 years! We cannot replace this farmland but we can place solar panels on residential and commercial roof spaces as well as brownfield sites. Lobby East Suffolk Council to follow a policy of utilising brownfield sites and rooftops for solar panels so we can have both solar power and productive farmland.
World events mean we need to conserve farmland
There is no alternative to prime farmland but there are alternative places to put solar panels
There is no alternative to prime farmland but there are alternative places to put solar panels
In January 2023 economists reported that sharp increases in fertiliser costs caused by the war in Ukraine could lower food production yield, They said that by the end of the 2020's agricultural land equivalent to "the size of much of Western Europe" would be required to meet global demand for food. The consequence is "severe impacts" for deforestation, biodiversity and carbon emissions. .Please contact East Suffolk Council to ensure they are not responsible for making this situation worse.
Food & drink - the most vital renewable energy.
The importance of agriculture in East Anglia and the UK
The importance of agriculture in East Anglia and the UK
The importance of agriculture in East Anglia and the UK
- There are 23.07 million acres of farmland in the UK of which 8.30 million acres is arable.
- East Anglia accounts for 3.45 million acres of farmland of which 1.75 million acres is arable - over 20% of the arable land in the UK.
- It is also the most intensively farmed and productive land in the UK due to it's fertile soils, easy terrain and warm climate.
- The most common crops in the area of the proposed solar farm wheat, barley, rapeseed and sugar beet.
- If Ukraine is the bread basket of Europe then East Anglia is the bread basket of the UK producing £3.4 billion of crops annually.
- It employs over 40,000 and supports many more jobs in allied industries.
300 acres keeps Beccles & Bungay in bread for 2 years.
The importance of agriculture in East Anglia and the UK
The importance of agriculture in East Anglia and the UK
- The 300 acres proposed for the development is capable of growing milling wheat.
- The wheat grown on 300 acres will produce the equivalent of 1.7 million loaves of bread.
- The average UK individual consumes just over one loaf per week meaning the 300 acres being earmarked for a solar farm will produce enough bread for 28,000 people annually.
- To put that into sharper focus those loaves would feed the populations of Beccles and Bungay for 2 years.
300 acres also produces...
The importance of agriculture in East Anglia and the UK
300 acres also produces...
Of course crops need to rotated so those 300 acres will be sufficient to produce:
- Enough sugar for two thirds of a million people annually
- 412,000 tons of rapeseed oil - to put that into perspective, the UK imports 49,000 tons of olive oil per annum
- Almost 1,000 tons of barley producing 7.5 million pints of beer.