As a property investor, newly elected Kent County Councillor, and long-time campaigner for responsible planning, I am increasingly alarmed by the rapid spread of large-scale solar farms across our countryside — especially here in rural Kent. While renewable energy is essential to a sustainable future, not all approaches are suitable. Solar power, when used wisely, is a positive force. But the growing trend of industrialising high-quality farmland and Green Belt land with sprawling solar installations demands urgent scrutiny.

The true cost of these developments extends far beyond their physical footprint. They bring environmental harm, disrupt local communities, and pose a real risk to property values — something no investor, homeowner, or policymaker can afford to overlook.

The Rise of Industrial Solar Farms
What was once limited to rooftops and brownfield sites has now exploded into proposals for vast solar panel arrays, stretching across hundreds of acres of open countryside. These are not small community projects—they are industrial-scale operations, often surrounded by security fencing, floodlights, and CCTV, completely out of character with their rural surroundings.

In some areas, six or more sites are being proposed within just a few miles of each other. This is not responsible green energy planning; it is a wholesale industrialisation of our landscape.