New solar farm near Knaresborough is 'wrong plan in the wrong area at the wrong time' says Tory peer

The respected Tory peer says he feels so strongly about the proposals covering 88 hectares of farmland between Scotton and Brearton that he would even contemplate standing in front of the lorries, if needs be.

Talking to the Harrogate Advertiser, the former MP for Leeds North East, who was also elected to the European Parliament in 1999, said: “It’s not a massive scheme as these sort of things go on paper, though it is big for Scotton.

"But it would have a massive affect on the local communities in the area.

"I’m not against environmental measures but these are the wrong proposals in the wrong area at the wrong time.

"It’s too big an issue for North Yorkshire to leave it to officers to make the decision.

"As a member of the House of Lords, I don’t usually step into local issues but I feel very strongly about this.

"I will be pushing my objections as hard as I can.

"I might even think about standing in front of heavy lorries and diggers if the plans were to go ahead.”

The proposed solar farm and lithium battery storage plant was first mooted by UK energy firm Gridserve in early 2021 in the days before the abolition of Harrogate Borough Council.

Since then, residents have formed a campaign group called Stop Scotton Solar Farm in an attempt to sway planners against the green energy schemes.

Lord Kirkhope says the project is located far too close to a village school and that the construction phase could involve heavy vehicles running from Bond End in Knaresborough, along narrow country roads and through quiet villages outside the town for the best part of a year.

"Residents in Scotton are already fed up with the amount of traffic using their village as a rat run,” he said.

"The potential route for the heavy good vehicles which would be involved is absolutely unacceptable.”

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate has raised his suspicions in the House of Lords about the aims and nature of the 49.9MW scheme for the Scotton area.

Government rules say solar farm schemes with a power output below 50MW only need local authority approval while those of 50MW or above require approval by the Secretary of State who has much greater powers to reject plans not in line with government policy.

“This appears to be a speculative venture, one of many now appearing across Yorkshire, which appear designed to avoid government scrutiny” he said.

"There are plenty of better locations for solar farms and battery storage plants in our county which would not pose a problem for small villages like Scotton.”

With the two separate planning applications now submitted to North Yorkshire Council, Lord Kirkhope says it is vital the council and councillors consider three major problems with the two related schemes in the Scotton area.

1 The Government has made it clear that, ideally, solar farms should not be built on good agricultural land but the plans are located in land which is 60% to 70% grade 2 and 3 agricultural land.

2 There has been “total complacency” over fire risk issues associated with the proposed battery plants being concentrated near Scotton Primary School and Farnham lakes.

3 Pledges to restore the land to its previous state once the 40-year lifespan of the solar farm and lithium battery storage plant has ended aren’t worth the paper they are written on.

As the planning battle heats up, Stop Scotton Solar Farm is holding meetings in the village this week to discuss the campaign’s next moves.

In the meantime, Lord Kirkhope says he is keen to address the planning committee at North Yorkshire Council to make his points heard.

"I will be submitting formal objections to the plans,” he said.

"It’s unusual to do so, but I want to address planners in person.

"I think these sorts of projects concentrate the advantages in too few hands and are simply not in the interests of the wider community."