{"id":487772,"date":"2026-03-21T14:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/487772\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:39:08","slug":"it-was-our-little-idyll-until-the-solar-farm-landed-the-battle-raging-in-the-heart-of-the-british-countryside-solar-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/487772\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It was our little idyll \u2013 until the solar farm landed\u2019: the battle raging in the heart of the British countryside | Solar power"},"content":{"rendered":"

As night descends on the grand offices of Lincolnshire<\/a> county council, everything appears orderly and calm. Paintings of long-forgotten councillors and dignitaries stare out into an empty\u00a0drawing room. The council chamber is silent and dark. Bored receptionists glance at their phones while a handful of admin staff hunch over glowing screens. But a rebellion is brewing in the office of the council leader, Sean Matthews, who took charge last May, when Reform replaced the Conservative old guard. The affable former royal protection officer is plotting an apparently radical campaign of civil disobedience against a series of giant solar farms planned for Lincolnshire.<\/p>\n

Despite a quarter of a century in the Metropolitan police, Matthews is willing to break the law to stop solar developers. He is planning to lie down in front of the bulldozers. \u201cThey can arrest me \u2013 I\u2019ve arrested plenty of people,\u201d he says, leaning forward on a sofa. \u201cIt\u2019s much bigger than me and my criminal record. For goodness sake, it\u2019s the future of the county, it\u2019s the future of our land. I am passionate about that and I will do what I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is not the only Lincolnshire cabinet member willing to spend a night or two in the cells. Natalie Oliver, a local business owner who became a Reform councillor last year, is also prepared to defy the police. \u201cI would do anything for my residents \u2026 we are 100% committed,\u201d says Oliver, sitting opposite Matthews. \u201cGetting arrested would be a new experience for me, but if that\u2019s what it takes, that\u2019s what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markMy view is that our influence on the climate of the planet is minuteSean Matthews with fellow Reform councillor Natalie Oliver<\/p>\n

This is the frontline in a fierce political battle over the rollout of mega solar farms, which could shape the future of the UK\u2019s energy transition. On one side is the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, who has pledged to take on the \u201cblockers\u201d to get large-scale renewable projects through the planning system. On the other side is a varied collection of grassroots campaigners and Nigel Farage\u2019s anti-net zero disruptors, who increasingly dominate the politics of Lincolnshire.<\/p>\n

Miliband has given the green light to more large-scale solar farms in Lincolnshire than anywhere else in the country. Four other local authorities, including Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, each have just one approved solar project capable of producing more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power, whereas Lincolnshire has six. These include Tillbridge Solar and Mallard Pass solar farm. A further four Lincolnshire solar schemes are going through the national planning process.<\/p>\n

For supporters of renewables, this is a tantalising prospect. Miliband has pledged to turn Britain into a \u201cclean energy superpower<\/a>\u201d by almost tripling solar power, doubling onshore wind and quadrupling offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade, to create a virtually carbon-free electricity system.<\/p>\n

Yet for many people living nearby, the solar revolution is upending centuries of settled rural life, despoiling landscapes and gobbling up food-producing land. They also question the wisdom of placing solar panels on an often cloudy island and believe private developers, rather than the public, will benefit.<\/p>\n

The countryside around the Lincolnshire market town of Gainsborough is a focal point for solar developers and their adversaries. It is set to be transformed by a cluster of four large-scale solar plants. The area is attractive because solar farms can easily plug into the National Grid at the site of the former Cottam coal power station, which operated here for half a century<\/a>. One of the new plants being built in this area, Tillbridge, is the largest solar development<\/a> to be granted planning permission so far. The project will cover approximately 1,400 hectares (3,460 acres), equivalent to 2,000 football pitches.<\/p>\n

In the pretty village of Glentworth, frustration is hardening into resentment. Dorne Johnson, who helps run the 7000 Acres group<\/a>, which represents residents from more than 30 villages opposed to the four solar farms, has lost faith in the national planning process, which handles major infrastructure projects. \u201cWe feel we are being dumped on. We feel we don\u2019t have a voice,\u201d says Johnson, as she walks her two cockapoos down a muddy lane that will one day overlook Tillbridge.<\/p>\n

The site will have thousands of 3.5 metre-high tracking solar panels, which pivot towards the sun to maximise electricity production. The entire development will be fenced off to protect passersby and stop theft of cables for the lifespan<\/a> of the scheme, which is 40 to 60 years. \u201cI won\u2019t be living in a rural village any more \u2013 I\u2019ll be living in a power plant,\u201d says Johnson, who retired to the county with her husband in 2021. \u201cWhy is Lincolnshire the sacrificial lamb? If we need solar farms, which I don\u2019t think we do because there are better options, why are they all coming here?\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markWe feel we are being dumped on. We feel we don\u2019t have a voiceLocal resident Dorne Johnson with her husband Andy<\/p>\n

The group are keen not to be portrayed as nimbys. Johnson insists she wouldn\u2019t mind other energy plants, such as modular nuclear reactors, as they have a smaller footprint. \u201cSolar is taking away all this land that produces food, when you can go and build a Sizewell C with less impact,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

They are also careful not to come across as climate change deniers. But their criticism strays into that territory. Johnson questions if there is a climate emergency, even though the world\u2019s scientists have called for rapid and deep cuts<\/a> in emissions. \u201cWe don\u2019t believe there is an emergency,\u201d she says. \u201cWe are against the rush \u2026 we should be doing it more thoughtfully and more slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, cold rain seeps from the leaden sky on to an isolated farm worker\u2019s cottage on the far outskirts of Glentworth. The cottage is surrounded by a patchwork of ploughed fields and soggy winter crops, interrupted only by the odd agricultural shed. Apart from the splash of raindrops, there is barely a sound. This is the tranquillity that attracted Alison Wood and Nick Mapstone to Lincolnshire in 2000. They were desperate to escape the frantic pace of south-east England and find a sanctuary to care for their autistic daughter, who has learning disabilities and is distressed by noise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just given up work to look after her. It seemed like the perfect solution to bring her and our other daughter here, out in the wilds, with no one to bother us,\u201d says Wood, as water streams down the cottage\u2019s conservatory roof. \u201cIt was our little rural idyll for years until the solar farm landed on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their cottage backs on to fields that will one day become Tillbridge Solar. The development has been hanging over them since 2022, when Mapstone, a retired health auditor, came across a surveyor wandering down their lane. \u201cThey wanted contact details to include us in the so-called consultation,\u201d Mapstone says, with more than a hint of bitterness.<\/p>\n

The site will undoubtedly change the couple\u2019s lives. One of two substations will be situated little more than\u00a0500 metres from their home, with three battery units less than 900 metres away. They fear their daughter, who is 33, will be affected by the drone of these systems, which could stop her going out in the garden or even opening a window. \u201cWe\u2019ve spent our lives protecting her from anything that will hurt her, and now we can\u2019t do anything about this,\u201d says Wood. \u201cWe are totally impotent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitecross solar farm<\/p>\n

The worry has been draining. Mapstone lets Wood, a former university psychology lecturer, do most of the talking, but his weary expression and the lines under his eyes suggest restless nights. He says the experience has taken a toll on his health. \u201cThis has caused depression and anxiety. I was perfectly all right before. And I\u2019m sure it\u2019s not just me; a lot of people in the village have been affected,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is the constant worry and the lack of control … It is the inevitability; it is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s concerns generated 22 pages of technical notes during the planning process. Tillbridge Solar told the Planning Inspectorate it had revised its plans to reduce the noise heard in the cottage. It also pledged to carry out spot checks once the farm was built. A spokesperson for the company tells me it recognises that large infrastructure projects can feel imposing, but they argue that completed solar farms produce electricity quietly, without combustion, emissions or regular vehicle movements. While they understand the concerns of Wood and Mapstone, they add that operational noise levels at the nearest homes will remain well below recognised thresholds.<\/p>\n

Wood and Mapstone are not reassured; they worry their daughter\u2019s medication will have to be increased so she can cope with the noise. \u201cWe feel awful \u2013 we don\u2019t want to do it,\u201d Wood says.<\/p>\n

It is not just Tillbridge Solar\u2019s closest neighbours who are upset. The planned route of underground cables linking the scheme and the other solar farms around Gainsborough to the National Grid has also sparked determined opposition.<\/p>\n

On the windswept fields south of Gainsborough, Nick Hill, a steely eyed potato farmer, is trudging over soil earmarked for the cables. \u201cThere are four solar farms within a six-mile vicinity, and all the cables are coming directly through here and going there,\u201d says Hill, pointing towards the distant grey chimneys of the defunct Cottam coal power station.<\/p>\n

This directly affects Hill: he will not be allowed to build more sheds to store crops and farm machinery on top of the cables. But he is more concerned about the loss of food-growing land. \u201cIn the second world war, if the boats didn\u2019t come across, we had days before running out of food. We\u2019ve got more people in this country now, so we\u2019ve got less time if anything goes wrong,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very shortsighted.\u201d<\/p>\n

This fear is at the heart of the battle over solar in Lincolnshire. While less than 1%<\/a> of the UK\u2019s land area could produce enough solar energy for the country to reach net zero by 2050, the sites are not spread evenly throughout the UK. Local farmers are divided: many have leased their land to solar farms, whereas others have become ardent anti-solar campaigners. Hill, whose family go back five generations in Lincolnshire, is scathing about farmers leasing their land to solar companies. \u201cI know them,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is all down to money and greed.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markThere are four solar farms within six miles and all the cables are coming through hereFarmer Nick Hill<\/p>\n

The developers are often viewed in the same way. All the approved large-scale projects in Lincolnshire are privately owned. Tillbridge will be built by the international solar company Canadian Solar, which has a Chinese solar manufacturing subsidiary<\/a>, and a UK renewable company, Tribus Clean Energy. Hill is furious that Miliband has enabled private companies such as these to hoover up so much of the county: \u201cThese companies are in it for profit. It is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s farm hosted a 100-strong protest organised by Lincolnshire MP and Reform deputy leader Richard Tice, which was broadcast by GB News<\/a> and ITV. Local people and councillors held placards with slogans such as \u201cSave rural Lincolnshire\u201d and \u201cFields 4 food not solar farms\u201d. At the front of the crowd, Tice issued a familiar threat: \u201cWe are going to rip up all of these new contracts \u2026 whether it\u2019s for windfarms, whether it\u2019s solar farms or battery storage, they are on notice. We don\u2019t view them as valid. They will be null and void \u2026 If you invest in solar and wind, you are probably going to lose your money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue has politicised Hill. He peppers his answers with Tice\u2019s catchphrase \u201cnet zero stupid\u201d. He didn\u2019t bother voting in recent general elections, but next time he goes to the polls he is certain: \u201cI\u2019m voting Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill is far from an outlier. A recent YouGov poll<\/a> suggests Farage\u2019s anti-net zero populists are on course to take all but one of the parliamentary seats in the county. They have already notched up some major local victories: as well as controlling the county council, the party\u2019s candidate, Andrea Jenkyns, won the race to become the first mayor of Greater Lincolnshire in May 2025. Back in the county council offices in Lincoln, Matthews and Oliver are keen to stand in the next general election, which has to be held by 2029. \u201cI would put myself forward \u2013 I want to do as much as I can,\u201d Oliver says. A smiling Matthews chips in: \u201cI can\u2019t imagine being on those green benches without her.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, they are going to try other ways to stop big solar coming to Lincolnshire. Matthews denies his approach can be likened to Just Stop Oil campaigners clambering on gantries on the M25 or Britain\u2019s most famous anti-roads protester. \u201cSwampy was against road building. I understand the principle, but the road has got a use \u2026 Solar farms are not proven to be of any use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews believes Miliband is indifferent to the popular mood in the county. \u201cI genuinely believe that Labour don\u2019t care because they\u2019re never going to win here, so they\u2019ll just chuck everything in Lincolnshire, turning what is a beautiful county into an industrial, electrified wasteland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Reform leader, however, does back other types of industrial energy production in Lincolnshire. Matthews even supports modular nuclear reactors and fracking because they use less land than solar. This is more than a pipe dream: Jenkyns has been courting a US fracking company. \u201cIf you want extra energy, let\u2019s look at shale gas. Let\u2019s look at tapping into that fantastic resource that we\u2019ve got in Lincolnshire,\u201d says Matthews, with unbridled enthusiasm. \u201cIt works really well in America; they get huge amounts out of the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markLabour will never win here, so they don\u2019t care if they turn a beautiful county into a wastelandA deer running across a field earmarked for solar panels \u2026\u2026 and a sign put up by protesters<\/p>\n

The Conservative government banned fracking in 2019 due to \u201cunacceptable impacts<\/a> on the local community\u201d, with an official report warning it was impossible to predict<\/a> the magnitude of earthquakes the process might trigger. Fracking sites have prompted long-running protests, but Matthews is convinced he could persuade local people: \u201cWe\u2019d win them around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like the 7000 Acres group, Matthews doesn\u2019t want to be described as a climate change denier, but he openly questions the contribution of humans to global heating: \u201cMy view is that our influence on the climate of the planet is minute.\u201d The UN\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which examines all available climate research in regular cycles, found that human activities have \u201cunequivocally caused global warming<\/a>\u201d, harming people and nature across the globe. But Matthews is having none of it: \u201cDon\u2019t give me that nonsense. That\u2019s 30 years old made-up stuff. That\u2019s crazy. It\u2019s not true. It\u2019s scientists who have been paid for by people who want to make a lot of money out of new green energies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tillbridge Solar spokesperson tells me that the project avoids the highest-grade agricultural land wherever possible, and that any change in land use is temporary and reversible at the end of the project\u2019s operational life. They say the independent planning inspectors examining the project concluded<\/a> that the scale of land used would have no \u201cmaterial impact\u201d on UK food security.<\/p>\n

It is hard to find prominent figures willing to defend solar publicly in Lincolnshire. One environmentalist pulls out of my interview because he is worried it could undermine his campaigning. Neil Murray, a veteran former Labour councillor who now sits as an independent on the planning committee, says solar supporters sometimes speak in \u201chushed tones\u201d in local shops in case they are overheard. \u201cWhat you notice living around here is that people who are supportive of solar are keeping their heads down,\u201d he says in the living room of his rural bungalow, with his two spaniels at his feet.<\/p>\n

But Murray is unafraid of ruffling a few feathers. He claims renewable projects are frequently obstructed by the council: \u201cIt\u2019s nothing to do with looking after the land. They think the climate crisis is a conspiracy. They don\u2019t articulate it like that, but that is what is behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray, whose family moved from Glasgow to Lincoln in the 1960s for work, stresses that the vast majority of Lincolnshire will remain untouched after the solar farms are built. \u201cAnti-solar campaigners need to get things in proportion. If we want electricity and we don\u2019t want to be beholden to dictators, we need to have clean, renewable energy from sources like the sun, wind and waves, which do not run out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He concedes that some might be adversely affected by the changes under way. \u201cMost of these solar farms are not located near where people live,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel sorry for affected families, but they are isolated cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markIt has become a culture war. They don\u2019t like changeLabour councillor Neil Murray outside a village shop displaying anti-solar farm signs<\/p>\n

The village where Murray lives with his partner is on a limestone ridge running from the south of the county towards the Humber estuary in the north. Plans to build a battery energy storage facility<\/a> and a National Grid substation<\/a> to serve nearby solar farms have led to a grassroots campaign and a protest march. The development could see 232 van-sized batteries placed on two fields outside the village. He acknowledges that many people are against what they see as the industrialisation of Lincolnshire. \u201cIt has become a culture war,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t like change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few trust private developers, but the next four years could see more communities building their own renewable schemes. Great British Energy, which was set up by the government last May, is planning to generate power from publicly owned renewable plants and spend up to \u00a31bn<\/a> supporting<\/a> more than 1,000 community-owned energy projects by 2030. Surveys suggest projects such as these provoke far less opposition<\/a>, but this does not extend to the diehard opponents in Lincolnshire county council. \u201cIt\u2019s not about who owns it \u2013 it is about covering huge swathes of arable land in ugly eyesores,\u201d Matthews says.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of apocalyptic warnings about the impact of solar farms on rural landscapes, but what do they actually look like? The 52-hectare Whitecross solar farm is barely visible from a quiet tree-lined country road on the outskirts of the Lincolnshire town of Sleaford. Yet a rough track through a wood leads to six fields full of more than 63,500 dark solar panels, which shimmer in the winter sunshine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is beautiful,\u201d says Saffron Hooper-Kay, who manages Whitecross for the investment management firm Downing. \u201cGreen electricity is being produced here and that is beautiful to me. Every panel has a 250-watt peak, four panels together boil a kettle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitecross is nowhere near the size of Tillbridge, which will be 23 times bigger. But it still produces enough electricity for 10,300 typical homes every year. If the same power were generated by fossil fuels, it would produce 6,954 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually. \u201cThat is equivalent to removing 1,620 cars from the road every year or planting 116,000 trees for 10 years,\u201d Hooper-Kay says. Although if you account for the manufacturing and shipping of the panels from overseas, Whitecross could take up to two years to reach carbon positive.<\/p>\n

Hooper-Kay started out working on rigs in the North Sea, where Reform plan to increase drilling if they win the next election. \u201cI used to work in oil and gas,\u201d she says as she wanders through the solar arrays. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to pull more oil out of the ground, so I retrained.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markGreen electricity is being produced here and that is beautiful to meSaffron Hooper-Kay, who manages Whitecross solar farm<\/p>\n

The farmer who leases the land is also delighted. \u201cIt is very heavy land. It is classified as grade 3b, which means poor arable production,\u201d says Andrew Darley, gesturing to the fields his family has farmed for three generations. The income from the lease has roughly quadrupled the money he was making from growing oilseed rape and wheat. \u201cWe would have been struggling without the solar farm,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s made a big difference.\u201d But he is also pleased to be contributing toward the net zero target and giving the land a rest for the duration of the scheme. \u201cWe were having to use quite a lot of herbicides,\u201d he says. \u201cNow we\u2019re all green.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hare darts between the arrays as Darley is talking. \u201cI\u2019ve been surprised by the amount of wildlife that has become established here. There are brown hares, partridge, skylarks, buzzards and red kites,\u201d he says proudly. This is not unusual. Research by the RSPB and Cambridge University found that solar sites managed for nature on the East Anglian Fens contained nearly three times as many birds<\/a> as surrounding farmland.<\/p>\n

However, Darley is less enthusiastic about building solar on good-quality growing land. Mallard Pass solar farm, which has been approved by Miliband, will be partly located on higher-quality agricultural land. \u201cI feel that there still ought to be a land classification if possible, so solar farms are not taking good arable land out of production,\u201d Darley adds.<\/p>\n

Whitecross generates power throughout the year. On a bright winter\u2019s day, it is producing just under half its capacity. Vassilis Thomas, who maintains the site, checks an app on his phone: \u201cAt the moment, it is 133 kilowatts (kW), and the capacity is 320kW, so we\u2019re talking about 40% … If there are clouds, this can drop down to 15% or 20%.\u201d Some anti-solar campaigns suggest the UK is too far north for solar power to be worthwhile. But other northern European countries have similar levels of sunlight; the Netherlands produces 20.5% of its electricity from solar power. In the UK, solar\u2019s share reached more than 6%<\/a> last year, which was the sunniest on record.<\/p>\n

The British solar industry is expanding fast. Downing is developing four sites in Lincolnshire, including a large-scale project.<\/p>\n

But Tice, whose Boston and Skegness constituency is little more than 20 miles away from Whitecross, is doing his best to undermine market confidence: in July he warned investors that a Reform government would cancel \u201ccontracts for difference\u201d<\/a>, which guarantee prices for renewable energy and nuclear generators. Price agreements such as these are essential in a privatised energy market because most of the costs are upfront. Many investors are prepared to pump in the capital necessary to install new solar farms only if they know the schemes will be profitable.<\/p>\n

Hooper-Kay is troubled by Reform\u2019s threats: \u201cIt is very shortsighted. It\u2019s a \u2018just keep barrelling out the water and hope we don\u2019t sink\u2019 vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the sun slides below the horizon, Murray takes his dogs for a walk. He pauses by a poster warning that solar farms are industrialising Lincolnshire. \u201cDid the people in Lincolnshire complain when much of Yorkshire and Scotland were covered in coalfields? Of course not,\u201d he says, with typical directness. \u201cIt\u2019s time for Lincolnshire to do its part.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As night descends on the grand offices of Lincolnshire county council, everything appears orderly and calm. Paintings of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-487772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}