Bold Solutions:
Protecting Our Communities and Environment
A resilient future depends on safeguarding food security, steering development toward brownfield land away from communities, enforcing robust cumulative impact assessments, and creating an independent energy safety board to protect both people and the environment.
The Economic Burden of Current Energy Policy
Britain is not going to have cheap energy any time soon. The government is baking in very high costs through contracts that embed high prices for decades to come.”
— Professor Sir Dieter Helm, University of Oxford
Unsustainable Costs
Long-term energy contracts, locking in high prices beyond 2040, burden the UK with some of the world’s most expensive electricity, severely impeding economic growth and household budgets.
A Façade of Independence
Despite outward appearances, our ‘green’ energy ambitions are largely outsourced. A staggering 80% of solar panels originate from China, our offshore wind sector is overwhelmingly foreign-owned and financed, and Britain lacks any lithium refining capabilities, creating a critical vulnerability.
Eroding National Security
This deep foreign dependency across vital minerals, equipment, and financing directly impacts our balance of payments and diminishes national competitiveness, undermining our long-term economic security.
The Safeguarding needs for the positive future of County Durham
Safeguard Our Food Security
We must immediately amend the County Development Plan to impose an outright prohibition on large-scale solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) on our most productive farmland (Grades 1–3a).
Our fundamental food security must always take precedence over the industrialization of our precious agricultural lands.
Embrace Intelligent Spatial Planning
Prioritise and direct energy developments to existing brownfield sites, commercial rooftops, and industrial zones. Ground breaking CPRE research clearly demonstrates that a remarkable 60% of the UK’s solar capacity could be strategically met on these already-developed surfaces by 2035, alleviating pressure on green spaces.
Demand Rigorous Cumulative Impact Assessments
It is imperative to mandate comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for all grid-linked energy projects, especially those within a five-mile radius. This will enable us to accurately assess and mitigate the devastating cumulative impacts on our landscapes and communities.
Establish an Independent Energy Safety Board
Form an empowered DCC Energy Safety Board composed of independent experts. This board must rigorously review technical risks, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and environmental safeguards for all energy projects, ensuring robust oversight before any approvals are granted.