Net Zero: Giant solar farm the size of 1,200 football pitches approved despite losing fertile arable farmland for 60 years

A solar farm the size of Heathrow Airport has been approved, despite the scheme meaning that swathes of arable farmland will be lost for 60 years. Green Hill Solar Farm will cover almost 3,000 acres of land across Northamptonshire and could power 200,000 homes when operational. But more than two-thirds of this land - the size of almost 1,200 football pitches - falls on "best and most versatile" (BMV) soil, the type most suitable for growing crops. This cannot be used for arable farming for the 60-year lifespan of the project. Ten acres of this BMV could be lost to farming permanently because of work needed to accommodate a battery storage site and a substation. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Local MP Sarah Bool said of the Government's approval: "It makes you question their commitment to our nation's food security." The solar farm, which would rank among the largest in the UK, will sit on land north of Northampton and extend to Buckinghamshire. The plans met fierce objections from locals, who argued it threatened UK food security as well as changing the nature of the landscape. Ms Bool, Tory MP for South Northamptonshire, and fellow Conservative, Stuart Andrew, the MP for Daventry, both opposed the development. A solar farm the size of Heathrow Airport has been approved, despite the scheme meaning that swathes of arable farmland will be lost for 60 years. | GB NEWS Green Hill Solar Farm will cover almost 3,000 acres of land across Northamptonshire and could power 200,000 homes when operational. In February, they delivered a petition to Downing Street, with more than 1,600 signatures. Campaigners said, while they supported renewable energy, the scheme was "the wrong scale and size of solar farm, and it's going in the wrong place in Northamptonshire". But Green Hill Solar said the 500 MW farm would "benefit Britain with clean, secure, low-cost energy". "We need to get large amounts of renewable energy in the system to help ensure energy security and combat climate change – as well as helping reduce people’s energy bills," it said. Planning inspectors had recommended the scheme be approved by energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh. The final decision notice said Ms Fahnbulleh was "satisfied that the proposed development would contribute materially towards the delivery of low carbon electricity generation and the achievement of the UK Government’s net zero objectives". LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Drought declared in Yorkshire after unprecedented periods of dry weather this summer Zack Polanski’s back against the wall after clean sweep of defeats for the Greens across Britain Two Bulgarian nationals sentenced after leering at and assaulting teenage girls Affected councils had complained that the 60-year operating period was too long. Ms Fahnbulleh acknowledged that the high-quality soil could not be used for arable farming during this time frame but ruled this was "temporary". "While the arable land will be out of agricultural production for the 60-year project lifespan, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the soil condition will not be fundamentally altered by the presence of the array, and considers the impacts temporary in nature," the approval found. Developers have pointed out that sheep will still be able to graze between the solar panels and say the project "would only occupy 0.027 per cent of the UK’s arable land". But Mr Andrew said the Government appeared "hell-bent" on approving the schemes. "They are giving the impression that they don't care about the rural environment and don't care about farmers," he said. "When people see these solar panels going up in our countryside, I think they are going to be absolutely horrified at what we are doing. "One of the lessons we learned from World War Two was that we had to become adept, very quickly, at growing our own food. "Heaven knows where we are going geopolitically, but it really does worry me that we are sacrificing this land and that we are not going to be able to grow anything on it." He questioned the wisdom of putting solar on farmland when there were huge warehouses in the county with no panels on their roofs. "I'm absolutely in favour of us diversifying into renewable energy, but it's about how we do it, not if we do it," he said. "It's not saying no to renewables, it's saying put them in a better place." Island Green Power, the developer behind the scheme, welcomed the approval, saying that it would "strengthen energy security while contributing to national and local climate objectives". It said it was committed to biodiversity gain and added the project will involve green corridors and more than 30 miles of "new and improved hedgerows". CEO Bob Psaradellis said the infrastructure would "benefit Britain". He said: "As the company moves into our new era as an independent power producer, projects such as Green Hill will form the basis of a strong portfolio of solar generation and battery energy storage. "The benefits will be shared with communities, through a local benefit fund, and the wider country, through the increase in secure, clean, and cheap homegrown power." The company hopes to begin construction next year, with the first electricity reaching homes by 2029. The solar industry has denied that a raft of large-scale projects represented a threat to food security. It said that, even when all proposed schemes are completed, there will be less land given over to solar farms than to golf courses. "Solar farms do not, and never will, pose a threat to food security," said Gareth Simkin, spokesman for trade association, Solar Energy UK. "Solar power provides the cheapest electricity available in the UK, and the bigger the installation, the more the economies of scale. "By displacing expensive gas from the grid, solar farms are helping to keep bills lower than they otherwise would be." Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter