Hastings council scraps plans for solar panels at country park

The council said it made its decision as part of a review of all planned major projects due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The crisis is likely to affect the council’s budget and the number of officers available, according to a council spokesman.

The decision to scrap the solar panel plans was made by councillor Kim Forward, leader of the council, and councillor Colin Fitzgerald, deputy leader, following a response from Natural England.

Councillor Forward said: “We would like to take the opportunity to thank partners, particularly the Friends of Hastings Country Park, for engaging with us during this time and acting as robust critical friends as we looked to deliver solutions to the climate emergency, we all face.

“The council’s climate change strategy provides a significant commitment to tackle climate change and reduce our carbon footprint. It is only by working with others, in partnership, and having difficult conversations that we will be able to identify and implement approaches that respond to that emergency.”

Following a cabinet decision in January 2019, Hastings Borough Council began investigating the possibility of housing ground mounted solar arrays in the country park.

This involved examining the business case for the arrays and asking Natural England’s Discretionary Advisory Service (DAS) to advise on the impacts of placing the arrays in the nature reserve.

The process took longer than the council anticipated and significant changes in both council resources and leadership took place in the meantime, as well as the global outbreak of COVID-19, a spokesman said.

Despite this decision, the council said it ‘remains committed to finding solutions to the significant challenges presented by climate change’, as laid out in its recently published Climate Change Strategy.

A council spokesman said: “Officers are continuing to explore other renewable energy schemes, such as roof top solar and solar car ports. These will be developed in partnership over the coming months.”

Councillor Evans, cabinet lead for climate change, said: “We made it clear in our recently published climate strategy that we would look for workable solutions to help tackle the climate emergency and would need to be flexible as the strategy develops. That requires creativity and a lot of exploration. It also means moving on once we’ve investigated things if they don’t meet our needs.”

The Hastings and Rye Liberal Democrats welcomed the decision to abandon the solar panel plans.

Councillor Andrew Mier (Liberal Democrat, Southern Rother), who has been an opponent of the scheme, said: “I am delighted to report that Hastings Borough Council has abandoned its project to install a solar farm in Hastings Country Park.

“The proposal had met with opposition from the Friends of Hastings Country Park, local MPs, the Hastings Green Party and Lib Dems among others. It appears the straw which broke the camel’s back was the opinion of Natural England – the sites were in close proximity to the Glens and Site of Special Scientific Interest.”