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Agriculture: Land Use

Answer

The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). 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.

As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL7063

Session

2024-26

Related items

Agriculture: Land Use
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Written questions
House of Lords

Grouped for answer

Yes

Subjects

Agriculture Land use Solar power

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk