More than a hundred residents packed into the Ferguson Fawsitt in Walkington in sweltering conditions for a public meeting on major solar farm proposals around Beverley and the surrounding villages.
The meeting was organised by Graham with David Hume of the local action group, who has done a superb job alerting residents to the scale of what is being proposed.
David and the group have helped turn local concern into an organised campaign, with residents giving up their time to leaflet, raise funds, gather evidence and make sure more people understand what is at stake.
Graham has supported the campaign from almost day one.
He has backed residents in making clear that people are not against clean energy, but they are against productive farmland, village roads and the local countryside being treated as the easy option for major energy infrastructure.
Graham also brought East Riding of Yorkshire Council into the discussion, with Cllr Anne Handley, Leader of the Council, Cllr Victoria Aitken and senior Council planning representatives attending the meeting to hear directly from residents and explain the Council’s role.
The Walkington solar situation is part of a much wider problem facing East Yorkshire and the wider country.
Large-scale solar, battery storage, cabling and grid infrastructure are now being proposed across rural areas, with productive farmland around Beverley, Walkington and nearby villages under serious pressure.
The proposed Clean Air Solar Farm alone would cover almost 3,000 acres of land around Beverley, Lockington, Beswick and Walkington.
The biggest schemes are not decided by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
Because they are treated as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, the Council is a consultee. The final decision is made nationally by the Secretary of State.
That is why the campaign now has to work on two fronts.
Locally, David Hume and the action group are continuing to spread the word, gather evidence, raise funds and encourage residents to respond in their own words.
Nationally, Graham is working to bring MPs together from other rural areas facing the same pressure, so Ministers hear a stronger national voice on cumulative impact, food production, construction disruption and the future of the countryside.
Graham has also gathered 332 signatures through his campaign page at grahamstuart.com/Walkington.
Cllr Victoria Aitken brought forward a motion to the last full council meeting calling for cumulative impact to be given greater weight in planning decisions.
That matters because residents are not just facing one proposal in isolation. They are facing the combined effect of multiple major energy projects in the same area.
David Hume, Chairperson of the Action Group said:
“I am thankful for everyone who attended from Beverley and all the surrounding Villages on such a blistering day.
“We are indebted to Graham Stuart who organised and chaired the meeting, and to Anne Handley and all the ward Councillors and Senior Officials who made time to come and offer their support to the Action Group.
“We are at a critical point in the process of challenging this outrageous proposal to remove nearly 3,000 acres of prime farm land in order for this developer to maximise their profits by co-locating as close to the Creyke Beck Energy Hub as possible.
“The permanent loss of access to all the amenities provided by our heritage landscape will have a major long term impact on everyone who lives, works or visits our beautiful area.
“The residents’s energy and anger against this proposal was clear for all to see.
“We will be forcefully challenging every single aspect of this proposal but we need the support of everyone to be successful.
“The whole Humberside/Yorkshire region is bearing the brunt of this creeping industrialisation of our rural economy.
“It is marvellous to hear that Graham and the Council will now be arguing on a Regional and National level that the Cumulative Impact of all the major energy projects is simply unbearable for local residents to endure.
“Our campaign slogan of ’Enough is Enough ’ applies equally to the people of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire as it does for the people of Beverley and the surrounding villages.
“Clean Air have made no attempt to inform the people of Beverley or Cottingham that this is happening and that Beverley will be literally surrounded by enormous solar factories changing it’s character for ever.
“That is a disgraceful tactic which shows how little regard they have for the views and welfare of local residents.
“Our top priority at this point is to address this failure in communication from the developer and ensure that everyone in Beverley, Cottingham and the surrounding villages are made aware by our Action Group that a major threat to their way of life is coming, and they need to get up to speed and get involved.
“This joint meeting is the first major step along that path.”
Cllr Victoria Aitken said:
“The planning system must take proper account of cumulative impact.
“These projects cannot be looked at one by one when local communities are facing the combined effect of solar farms, battery storage, cabling, road disruption and the loss of productive farmland.
“That is why I brought forward a motion at East Riding of Yorkshire Council calling for cumulative impact to be given greater weight in planning decisions.
“Residents are right to make their voices heard, and I will continue to support them in making the case.”
Cllr Anne Handley, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:
“East Riding is a rural area with a proud record of food production, and local people are right to be concerned about the scale of what is being proposed.
“The Council does not make the final decision on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, but we can make sure local concerns are heard clearly.
“I was pleased to attend the meeting in Walkington, listen to residents directly and make clear that East Yorkshire should not be expected to take a disproportionate share of national energy infrastructure.”
Graham said:
“This meeting was not the end of anything. It was the beginning of the next stage.
“David Hume and the action group have done a superb job alerting people to the scale of what is being proposed.
“They have taken a real local concern and turned it into a serious, organised campaign.
“I have been on board with them since pretty much day one, because residents are right to be worried.
“This is not about being against clean energy. It is about whether productive farmland, village roads and the countryside around Beverley and Walkington should be treated as the easy option.
“The Council is a consultee, not the decision-maker. But it matters that the Council is engaged and understands the strength of feeling locally.
“That is why I brought the Council Leader, councillors and planning representatives to Walkington to hear directly from residents.
“The action group now needs to keep going. People need to keep spreading the word. And I will work with MPs from other affected areas to build the national pressure we need.
“We have 332 signatures already at grahamstuart.com/Walkington.
“Now we need more people to speak up, because once this land is gone, we may never get it back.”
