Farmers accuse PM as 110 acres taken off them for solar panels

THIRD-GENERATION tenant farmers Emma and Rob Sturdy have accused Sir Keir Starmer of breaking a promise after they had to surrender almost half their land to a solar firm.

- By Eleanor Burleigh

The couple, whose family have worked at Eden Farm for over 50 years, lost a battle to keep the farmland this month after their landlord agreed to lease it to a solar developer.

Plans to hand 110 acres of the 265-acre site to Harmony Energy for the development were rejected by the local council in 2023.

The case then went to a public inquiry, with Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook overturning the decision and giving the scheme the go-ahead earlier this year.

Rob and Emma attempted to appeal the final verdict in the High Court but were told this month that their bid had been unsuccessful.

Rob's grandfather signed a tenancy in 1971, enabling three generations to live and work at the site, ending with Emma and Rob's children. But the couple now expect to lose around half of their profits.

They say it contradicts the Prime Minister's pledge ahead of last year's General Election to grant tenant farmers a "fair deal" and keep "the soil beneath their feet secure".

Rob, 54, told the Express: "It's a real blow. We can't downsize in any meaningful way. You can't reduce the size of the combine harvester by half, or the grain store. It's going to be incredibly difficult to absorb that loss."