{"id":2251915,"date":"2026-11-08T06:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T03:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2251915"},"modified":"2026-11-08T06:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T03:12:09","slug":"bedfordshire-solar-farm-could-harm-food-security-council-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2251915","title":{"rendered":"Bedfordshire solar farm could harm food security, council says"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/811b\/live\/724b9a70-d06f-11f0-92b0-9b1b6ce7fb6f.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"PressPress Association<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Cople Parish Council said it would continue to object to the plans<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A parish council has raised strong objections to a planned solar farm on agricultural land that could generate enough electricity to power more than 15,000 homes a year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The development would cover about 260 acres of land on the Shuttleworth Estate near Sheerhatch Wood in Bedfordshire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In an open letter, Jason Whaley, chairman of Cople Parish Council, said the proposal would “undermine food security”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The developer said the project had the “potential to make a positive and lasting contribution to local biodiversity”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A public consultation on the plans has closed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On the project’s own website, Quintas Cleantech, the developer, said the location was chosen because it was a “great spot” for a solar farm, as the land was “relatively flat and doesn’t cover any protected landscape areas”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The company is working on more than 10 proposals across the UK and believed these schemes could play an important role in delivering home-grown renewable electricity, strengthening the UK’s energy security, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"HollyHolly Nichols\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The developer has said the Shuttleworth Estate provides a “great spot” for a solar farm<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Whaley said the proposal was not “appropriate” or “proportionate”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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High-quality agricultural farmland would be lost, he said, and there would be an increase in traffic and noise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He urged planners to give serious consideration to Historic England’s conclusion that a solar farm would negatively impact a Romano-British settlement that is adjacent to the site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It would also undermine the Shuttleworth Trust’s farming objectives, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Environmental benefits’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Shuttleworth Estate said its trustees were responsible for managing the estate in the “most effective and sustainable way”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Any commercial arrangements relating to the estate are confidential between the parties involved and we are therefore unable to comment on their details.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The application is yet to be decided upon by Bedford Borough Council. The council first received the application in May 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Quintas Cleantech said the project would deliver “significant environmental benefits” and there would be a net increase in habitats for wildlife.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We remain committed to engaging constructively with local stakeholders and addressing legitimate concerns as the proposal progresses,” a Quintas spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on <\/i>BBC Sounds<\/i>, <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, <\/i>Instagram<\/i> and <\/i>X<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cmy0rzz2g774o”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/811b\/live\/724b9a70-d06f-11f0-92b0-9b1b6ce7fb6f.jpg”] Press Association Cople Parish Council said it would continue to object to the plans A parish council has raised strong objections to a planned solar farm on agricultural land that could generate enough electricity to power more than 15,000 homes a year. The development would cover about 260 acres of land on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2251915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2251915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2251915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2251915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2251915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}