High quality land 'should be for food' says Daniel Zeichner
Plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes along the Cambridge to Oxford growth corridor were announced by the previous government.More details were given by the current Labour government in January.Organisations such the National Farmers' Union say they have many concerns about the possibility of farmland being used. However, Zeichner said that in his view "high quality agricultural land" should "by and large be used to produce food".
Regarding solar farms, he said it was important that the country became more self-sufficient in meeting its energy needs, which would help bring down energy prices. A number of plans for solar farms in Cambridgeshire are being considered. These include Kingsway solar farm, near Balsham, and East Park Solar farm on the Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire border.Other project, such as Sunnica, near Newmarket, have already been granted planning permission. Zeichner said he understood "local anxieties" but that even if the most ambitious amount of solar generation was achieved across the country, it would cover "less than 1% of land mass".He said he believed that was "less than the number of golf course we currently have".
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