Almost 500 acres of farmland to be lost to Stonestreet Green solar farm

CPRE Kent are bitterly disappointed by the decision of Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, to approve the building of the Stonestreet Green solar farm near Aldington.

The decision comes as a devastating blow to the individuals and organisations, including CPRE Kent, who campaigned so hard against Evolution Power’s 474-acre scheme.

More than 300 representations were received, with Kent Wildlife Trust, Weald of Kent MP Katie Lam and several parish councils also among those highlighting its impact on both the rural landscape and biodiversity.

Evolution Power claims Stonestreet Green Solar will power up to 42,000 homes and that the site’s biodiversity will be “greatly enhanced” and soil condition improved. The nearby Sellindge grid connection and claimed high levels of sunlight were apparently among the reasons the site was chosen.

With a generating capacity of 99.9 megawatts, the scheme comfortably clears the 50MW barrier at which solar farms are examined by the Planning Inspectorate rather than the local authority. It is expected that construction will take a year.

Despite the unwelcome outcome in this case, CPRE Kent will never give up fighting for our county’s countryside when we believe proposed development is unacceptably damaging and, quite simply, wrong.