The bedrock of British politics is popular confidence that well-informed local opinions can alter national decisions. From influencing councillors and Members of Parliament too, local communities must be sure they can affect the way they are governed. So, it is disturbing that less than two weeks into the new Labour Government, local democratic representation is being threatened by a ploy to limit the power of local communities’ say in vitally important planning matters.
Last week, new Ministers both threatened to lift limits which emphasise local views on onshore wind, and to consult on whether to designate large wind installations as “nationally significant infrastructure projects”, so giving the Energy Minister power to sign off large wind turbine schemes without the consent of local councils or local people. Surely, this must not be allowed to happen here, given that our county, being the breadbasket of Britain, is essential to national food security. Lincolnshire is responsible for growing 30% of the nation’s vegetables, 20% of its sugar beet, 18% of its poultry; overall, local farmers and growers account for 12% of the whole country’s food production. Indeed, Lincolnshire boasts more prime fertile farmland (Grade I) than any other area of England.
Yet, despite all this, it seems that our county is a target both for unsightly, inefficient wind turbines, and all other kinds of energy infrastructure. Schemes by greedy big businesses to cover 1% of Lincolnshire’s land are already in the pipeline, and, disturbingly, permission was given by Government Ministers just days ago for the controversial Mallard Pass solar installation on the Rutland and Lincolnshire border, which covers 8 square kilometres. Locally, our fight continues to oppose Meridian’s plan to fill prime land from Crowland to Gedney Hill and beyond with giant, foreign-made solar panels. Be sure, I will continue to fight such schemes using whatever means necessary.
To be anchored, wind turbines – which are rarely built in this country – require vast quantities of concrete, which would be much too expensive and difficult to ever remove. What can’t Ministers see that it is not in the national interest to compromise food security by using the nation’s most fertile farmland in this way? Particularly, as the rush to erect turbines and solar panels has little to do with our national environmental footprint – producing one wind turbine has approximately the same carbon effect as building around 170 new cars or driving 4.2 million miles in a diesel vehicle.
Simultaneously, our area faces proposals by National Grid to erect huge overhead pylons for 87 miles from Grimsby to Walpole. These pylons, and possible new onshore wind installations, will pass within a few miles of the Wash – a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). So, I will press the new Government to honour the special protection for the Fens to which the previous Government committed.
As Energy Minister, and later in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, securing the moratorium on onshore wind catalysed the extraordinary success of our offshore industry. Offshore wind is infinitely preferable to its onshore version as turbines at sea are larger, more numerous and concentrated, and require a single connection to the grid, delivering a much more effective way of generating energy, whereas scattered onshore wind installations increase transmission and distribution costs, which already represent around 15% of every energy bill.
As there has been much talk in recent years about devolving powers to communities as a means of reigniting faith in democratic politics, it’s hard to reconcile a genuine desire to respect and honour local opinions with diktats from Westminster and Whitehall of a kind that show little regard to food security and none to the beauty of the Fens’ open landscapes and big skies. The new Government need to know that to impose numerous, intrusive onshore wind turbines; hundreds of giant pylons; and thousands of immense solar panels on communities that don’t want them would be as antidemocratic as it is unwise.
