Swaffham Town Council continues to oppose High Grove Solar Farm plans

Councillors have continued to voice their concerns about major solar projects proposed for their area.

For the second monthly meeting in a row, Swaffham Town Council discussed RWE plans to build a solar farm which could power 363,000 homes on farmland around Breckland.

County councillor William Nunn told members he is “very concerned” about “the plethora of solar” touted to be built in the coming years.

He suggested that county, district and town councils should band together in a bid to officially oppose the High Grove Solar Farm scheme.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” he said.

“They (solar companies) will offer you the earth, literally. I don’t trust them.

“I think they will tell you everything you want to hear until they have got the solar on the floor, and then it will be a battle for 40 years.”

Swaffham mayor Cllr Paul Darby told Wednesday’s meeting that the town council has been speaking with surrounding villages about how to work together as a group to fight the plans.

Town clerk Helen Carrier said a meeting has been set for January - and there are hopes that Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig, who used to represent the town, will attend.

Cllr Steph Cooper said the solar projects have been the “main concern” voiced by residents at the town council’s gazebo, which gives members of the public an opportunity to discuss issues they have.

Cllr Nunn made clear that he is not against solar in general - but that he opposes projects which will take up farmland.

Cllr Lindsey Beech, the town’s deputy mayor, said: “My concern is that over the course of 40 years, it will be the loss of two generations of farming skills.

“Where are we going to get that from?”

If given the go-ahead, the RWE solar farm would be the biggest in the UK.

The international renewable energy company has proposed to build a 720-megawatt facility, which would be located across 4,000 acres of land on five sites.

Swaffham Town Council previously voted to join an alliance with the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England), an organisation which opposes solar farms in rural areas.