Earlier this month, we reported on proposals to build two major solar farms in Nottinghamshire: a 76-hectare solar farm between Caunton and Kelham and the four-mile-wide Great North Road Solar Park, west of Newark.
Over the past couple of weeks, there have been several developments which we can happily report on.
More parish councils are joining forces to resist developer Elements Green’s plans, including Councillor Bruce Laughton, who represents the area on Nottinghamshire County Council. He said: “People are generally aware of the plans now, and the Parish Councils are joining forces to fight the application.
“North Nottinghamshire has supplied the country with energy for years. Now people are saying it’s somebody else’s turn.”
There has also been a sharp upturn in public attendance of parish council meetings, where locals have been photographed holding placards warning of a “solar invasion.”
In response, a spokesperson for Elements Green previously said, “We are keen to engage with local communities to share our early-stage proposals, giving them the opportunity to have their say, share their views and local knowledge.”
There are a couple of things to unpack here. First of all, the hypocritical destruction of greenbelt land in the name of questionable green policies is not proving to be a popular direction with the public. More and more are waking up to the fact that endless solar developments are environmentally damaging and, when it comes to meeting the country’s energy demands, unreliable and insufficient.
Secondly, it shows that the balance of power ultimately lies with communities. With parish councils and their constituents banding together, Elements Green has no choice but to start engaging with them. It’s for this reason that community politics is the modus operandi of the Homeland Party.
We’ll continue to monitor further developments and provide updates accordingly.
