Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bowie and Karen Bradley

Tuesday 27th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bowie]

I can reassure the hon. Lady that the solar taskforce will publish its recommendations imminently, and we have an ambitious target of deploying 70 GW of solar across the UK by 2035.

[Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

Residents in Staffordshire Moorlands are very concerned about a number of planning applications for solar farms and battery storage plants on farmland. They have a number of questions, so can my hon. Friend ensure that small district councils have the appropriate expertise to look at those applications? Can he make sure that proximity to the national grid is taken into consideration, and that when there are a number of applications relating to adjoining pieces of land, those applications are considered as a whole, rather than looked at individually?

[Andrew Bowie]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her question, and reassure her that we take all those concerns incredibly seriously. I am very happy to meet her and any other Member of Parliament who has concerns about the plans being put forward in their constituency. As I have said, it is really important that everybody—from Members of Parliament through to those in the community who are affected by or have concerns about plans—can engage with the planning process at every stage. We will do what we can to address those concerns while meeting our ambitious target of deploying 70 GW of solar by 2035.