Pretty little UK village will be ‘surrounded by solar panels’ amid Labour’s net zero plans

Pretty little UK village will be ‘surrounded by solar panels’ amid Labour’s net zero plans Residents have campaigned against the huge development. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Sarah Barltrop 12:13, Sun, Aug 9, 2026 The development has been proposed in an Ashbourne village (Image: Getty) A pretty Derbyshire village may soon be surrounded by solar panels as Labour's net zero plans march on. British Solar Renewables (BSR) submitted an application to install panels on almost 300 acres (121 hectares) of farmland in Brailsford, a quaint red-brick village between Derby and Ashbourne. Brailsford Solar Farm would encircle many properties and restrict the "irreplaceable" views of the Dales with nearly 132,000 solar panels set to be installed across farmland. Local resident James Hodson, who has lived at the village’s Top Wild Park Farm for 28 years, told the BBC that accessing his home would be “like entering a prison”, due to fences and security lights. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the latest politics news - straight from our team in Westminster and more Subscribe Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy Andy Burnham's nightmare could be about to come true - he'll be quaking in his boots Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World fire: Attraction closed with update issued on animals "We're going to be surrounded by the development which has 8ft (2.4m) fences and security lights around it," he said. "Our entrance down the lane will be through a fence tunnel so it will essentially be like entering a prison." His neighbour Jennifer Smith said the views are "irreplaceable", adding that "once this land has gone they're not making any more". Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Mr Hodson has urged residents to lodge their opposition with Derbyshire Dales District Council, which has the final say on whether proposals go ahead. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT According to BSR, the area of land is located off Main Road, Brailsford, Ashbourne , DE6 3DA. "We are currently in the early design development stages of our proposals, and we are undertaking extensive surveying and planning work," it said. The developers said the proposed solar park will generate enough renewable energy to power around 16,060 homes every year, helping to save approximately 22,396 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. BSR said it has reached out to residents affected and would create a £275,000 fund for the local community. Carla Hardaker, development director at BSR, said the company wants to work with the community. "We originate, develop, build and then operate and maintain all of our own projects, so we do recognise that we are going to be neighbours in the communities that we go into for typically 40 years," she said. "In order to manage these relationships we are out on site and we carry out very robust surveys as part of the application to ensure that we're in an appropriate environment or we've selected an appropriate site." Labour has committed to reaching net zero by 2050 , which means that the total greenhouse gas emissions would be equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere. Labour Party Renewable energy Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments