ED Miliband’s rabid obsession with ‘Net Zero’ targets is spreading at breakneck speed like a polymer plague across the Garden of England.
The fixation of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on an ideology which in my opinion is more concerned with lining the pockets of the global elites than saving the planet has reached the southernmost tip of Kent.
The Dungeness headland encompasses 12 square miles of shingle, the largest such expanse in Europe which is known as Britain’s only desert.
It is an SSSI (site of special scientific interest) and home to numerous rare species of insects. Among residents are the Sussex Emerald moth, found only at Dungeness, and the short-haired bumble bee, reintroduced into the area following declared extinction in 2000. It is also a favoured stop-off for migrating birds. Rare local bird life includes the glossy ibis which now proliferates in unprecedented numbers.
Also present are rare plants such as sea kale and viper’s bugloss – a vivid, almost luminous purple flower – and amphibians include the great crested newt. All these natural inhabitants are reasons that Dungeness is such an attraction for those who love nature – and history.
The historical aspects of the area are largely due to its position during the Napoleonic wars and two world wars, and evidence of these conflicts remain within the landscape.
Therefore, the news of the proposed 2,703-acre (4.2 square miles) South Brooks Solar Farm, backed by French energy giant EDF, which owns the site, has come as a shattering blow.
We do not want this unique coastal jewel littered with ugly and combustible panels cluttering an area that is rich in biodiversity beloved of residents, and history and flora-and-fauna loving visitors.
The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature railway is also a magnet for visitors who feed the local economy and the area is, as yet, still unsullied by over-development.
In opposition to this scheme a group named Hands Off Our Marsh has been assembled and has already raised strong objections to this proposed eyesore. Petitions, letters and consultation forms have been angrily addressed to those who propose this atrocity.
Tony Vaughan KC, Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe, writing in Kent Online, said: ‘Energy bills are far too high. They are 45 per cent higher than they were in 2022.
‘Large scale solar developments threaten vast swathes of farming communities; one single planned solar farm threatens to take up 10 per cent of the farmland on Romney Marsh in my constituency.
‘We all recognise the need for clean sources of energy, but we must not have our rural, local communities in Kent face such monumental upheavals on their own.
‘I believe there is a better way – a ‘win-win’ that protects our countryside while putting money into the pockets of the local people who need it most. The answer lies not in our fields, but on our roofs.’
A rare response indeed from a Labour MP. However, Miliband is also pushing a household rooftop scheme which is, given the fact that most housing stock in Britain is old and therefore unsuitable, yet another Labour pipe dream. Why not the sides of motorways and railways and industrial units? More joined-up thinking is needed here.
Key arguments against the proposed Dungeness developments are, first and foremost its SSSI and historic status. There are also concerns about rising sea levels and flooding. Nearby Romney Marsh has an ancient and complex system of drainage ditches with multiple coastal outlets.
There is also the problem of possible compulsory purchase orders which would affect local agriculture. Romney Marsh has a centuries-long tradition of sheep farming: the local wool is renowned far and wide and even worn by royalty.
At the top of this list of concerns is the presence of a 1960s-built nuclear power station, currently under deconstruction, although parts of it are still ‘live’. This process is projected to continue well beyond the lifetimes of many of us. Also of concern is an Army camp with live firing ranges, and a small but relatively busy local airport. All pose both security and safety risks (reflections off the panels would be in proximity to the airport) and the obvious risks posed by the flammability factor of both panels and the battery storage that accompanies them.
However, the overall concern of locals is their beloved and precious landscape, dog walking, fishing, and the sheer enjoyment of living in such a unique and wild landscape, an aspect of British life that is in danger from a government whose interests, in my opinion – and that of many others – seem hell-bent on destroying any remaining vestige of the character and history of these islands.
You may well consider this viewpoint somewhat romanticised and possibly naïve. However, to those of us in the front line of this proposed nightmare, the presence of large panels constructed of materials that are both toxic and non-biodegradable is yet another contradiction in terms to the claims of ‘saving the planet’.
‘Hands Off Our Marsh has been set up to oppose the very large number of mass scale solar developments that could be placed across Romney Marsh,’ says the campaign group in its mission statement. ‘It’s a non-political space where group members can inform each other . . . share information and ideas on how we can oppose the removal of grade 1 and 2 land from the food system, and also protect our valuable wildlife, history and community amenities. Help us put solar in its place . . . on roofs . . . and not on Romney Marsh’s prime agricultural land.’
This echoes my own sentiments except I would take it a tad further. Let’s widen our choice of methods of energy extraction and in that spirit I unashamedly quote President Trump during a 2025 visit to the UK. ‘Open up the North Sea’ and ‘drill, baby, drill’. I cannot understand why this Government doesn’t see the bleedin’ obvious.
