Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56079 on Agriculture: Land Use, whether his Department plans to introduce (a) guidance and (b) thresholds to balance solar farm development with (i) the protection of landscape character and (ii) food production capacity in rural areas.

There are already robust measures in place to protect landscape, biodiversity and agricultural land, including comprehensive environmental assessments where relevant.

The Government agrees that prime agricultural land should be safeguarded, and where a proposal involves agricultural land, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions, making clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. This will, where relevant, be a material consideration in planning decisions, including those made by the Secretary of State.

Solar and farming can be complementary, supporting each other financially, environmentally and through the shared use of land – whilst maintaining UK food production.

The Government has also committed to empower Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder and more accessible. As set out in the NPPF, great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, the Broads and National Landscapes which have the highest status of protection in relation to these issues.