Prime agricultural land should be used to grow food, not to accommodate solar panels, says the MP for Louth and Horncastle.

Conservative Victoria Atkins has renewed her call to protect farmland from large-scale solar developments after a visit to the village of Ludborough to meet residents.

The village has been earmarked for a proposed, large solar farm, but Ms Atkins fears it would have “a hugely adverse impact, both on the availability of productive agricultural land and also on local communities”.

She also believes it would damage the historic landscape of the Lincolnshire Wolds and commented: “Prime agricultural land should be used to grow food and strengthen our food security, not be covered in solar panels.

Conservative MP Victoria Atkins visit residents opposed to plans for a large solar farm in Ludborough.

placeholder image — Conservative MP Victoria Atkins visit residents opposed to plans for a large solar farm in Ludborough.

"While solar energy has an important role to play in our energy mix, we must not allow the push for net zero to come at the expense of the farmland that feeds our nation."

Ms Atkins warned that, at a time of increasing food insecurity because of global food-chain disruption, building large-scale solar projects will threaten food production at the very time we need to be producing more domestically.

She said the Conservative Party's proposed ‘Cheap Power Plan’ would prioritise establishing a mix of energy, including nuclear power and reliable gas generation, that protects the pockets of consumers and reduces reliance on sprawling solar developments across the countryside.

To help safeguard agricultural land, the MP has also brought forward a Private Member's Bill in Westminster aimed at protecting the country's best farmland from development.

She added: "I want to ensure our countryside is protected before it's too late. We need clean and affordable energy, but we should not sacrifice food security, valuable farmland or the character of our rural communities in the process."

Residents can find out more about the Ludborough campaign against the solar farm and sign the petition supporting the Bill at: https://tinyurl.com/2ny58dcs.

Meanwhile Ms Atkins says she is “absolutely delighted” to remain in the Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet after a ministerial reshuffle by leader Kemi Badenoch.

She is to stay in her post on the Tories’ front bench as Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

She said: “I asked for this role in 2024, and I asked to stay in it at the reshuffle.

"I have been working hard for the last two years to stand up for farmers and food producers, and to protect our countryside from being concreted over and covered in solar panels.

"I will continue to work every day for my constituents and for people who live in the countryside all over Britain.”