Demand for action on 'solar land grab'

Staffordshire County Council says a national planning policy is needed to stop farm land being sold off...

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ENERGY: A solar panels site.

COMMUNITIES worried about the 'solar land grab' across the county's countryside are being urged to join the call for better planning.

Staffordshire County Council is arguing that a national land-use policy is needed to manage the growth of solar and other alternative energy sites, rather than planning applications being decided across eight different district and borough councils.

With local farmland increasingly being proposed for acres of solar panels and battery storage sites, Staffordshire County Council is proposing the need for a national policy, which also recognises how much land is needed for food production.