Loss of Productive Farmland – Food Security Matters More than half of the site consists of Grade 2 and Grade 3a “best and most versatile” farmland — among the most productive agricultural land in the UK. The remainder is active, well-managed grazing land , currently supporting the award-winning Ayrshire herd of the Howie family . This herd won Supreme Interbreed Champion at the South of England Show in June 2025 — a testament to the quality of the land and its management. Once soil is compacted under solar panels and subjected to decades of degradation, it is unlikely to fully recover.
The House of Commons debate (15 th May 2025) highlighted the threat to food security posed by inappropriate siting of solar farms on productive farmland — urging planners to avoid such harm where alternative, less valuable land is available*. This land is too valuable to lose. 14