The presentation of petitions to the House of Commons has a proud history. In 1669, the House declared that “it is the inherent right of every commoner in England to prepare and present petitions to the House of Commons in case of grievance”. Over the next two centuries the number of petitions delivered to Parliament grew.
Continuing that important tradition, I have invited constituents to add their names to a petition of the residents of South Holland and the Deepings, to oppose the proposals by National Grid to build 87 miles of huge overhead pylons from ‘Grimsby to Walpole’, which would have a detrimental impact on the natural landscape of the Fens in South Holland and beyond; spoiling open vistas by filling the big skies for which the Fens are famed. Meanwhile, recent attempts to swamp 9,109 hectares, or 1.3 per cent of the total land across Lincolnshire, with solar panels risks damaging the character of the county while reducing domestic food production, so compromising national food security to make Britain yet more dependent on imported foreign foods.
On Wednesday at Prime Minister’s Questions, I asked Rishi Sunak directly about the cumulative impact of these threats to local amenity:
“Britain’s food security, compromised by cheap foreign imports, now faces a parallel threat: all kinds of industrialisation of the countryside, from large solar plants to interconnectors and substations, and now huge pylons covering 87 miles of countryside. These will blot the landscape and use up valuable growing land, filling the fenland big skies.”
Too often the Fenland landscape is either misunderstood or unappreciated by such commercial speculators who are too small-minded to glory in the scale of its openness. Amongst the most tranquil places in Britain is the coastal salt marsh of the Wash – perhaps England’s last great wilderness. Yet these pylons will pass within a few miles of that designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Our flat land means that tall structures are more visible than almost anywhere else in Britain. Once such height was limited to our great churches – are we now to worship Mammon made of metal and wire?
Some from outside of Lincolnshire do appreciate its uniqueness. The late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman was one. He said:
“Lincolnshire is like a separate country. It is off most main roads, a wide rolling landscape of silvery church towers… outlined against enormous skies”.
Another poet, Benjamin Zephaniah, who lived at Moulton Chapel, also sung the praises of our area:
“I love coming home… If coming home is not a joy then you are living in the wrong place. When I drive over the new blue bridge near Peterborough I relax because I’m home.”
Our Lincolnshire home is indeed a precious rural place. Only by bringing our collective voice to Parliament can those who have no stake in local society, and no affection for our county, be stopped. Resistance has only just begun. The first phase of the campaign being my petition, which is already receiving support from my constituents across South Holland and the Deepings.
Our recent successes show what popular pressure can achieve in protecting and promoting our locality. No fewer that 690 local people petitioned to save the ticket office at Spalding Railway Station. Our victory in doing so shows what happens when people pull together to make a stand for their community. We me must do so again to protect our green and pleasant land.
If you wish to add your voice to the groundswell of local support against this proposal to install miles of unsightly pylons across our area, please contact my constituency Office at [email protected]. Together, we can – and will – fight to make our shared voice heard.
