Solar farms on best and most versatile land

A solar farm agricultural land classification argument is rarely about whether solar is acceptable in principle. It is about whether the site is best and most versatile land, which means Grades 1, 2 and 3a, and whether poorer land could reasonably have been used instead. Objectors know the terms. Parish councils quote them. And the provisional maps that everyone starts from cannot answer the question, because they do not separate Grade 3a from Grade 3b at all.

That gap between the published map and the policy test is where most of these applications are won or lost.

Why land grade decides these applications

National policy asks decision makers to recognise the benefits of the best and most versatile land and, where development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, to use areas of poorer quality in preference to higher quality. Verify the current wording and policy reference in the edition of the Framework in force when you write, because the Framework has been reissued more than once and the numbering has changed.

The practical effect is a two part test. Is the land best and most versatile, and if some of it is, has the applicant shown why a lower grade alternative would not work. An application that ignores the second half of that question invites a refusal reason that is difficult to answer at appeal.

Natural England becomes a statutory consultee where a proposal not in accordance with the development plan would involve the loss of 20 hectares or more of Grade 1, 2 or 3a land, which is a threshold worth knowing before the red line is drawn.

Commissioning an agricultural land classification survey

The provisional maps produced in the 1980s were drawn at a scale suited to regional planning. They show Grade 3 undivided, and their boundaries are not reliable at field level. Relying on them is the first mistake, in both directions: applicants who assume their Grade 3 land is 3b, and objectors who assume it is 3a.

A site specific survey applies the published classification guidelines, assessing climate, site factors such as gradient and flood risk, and soil properties including texture, depth, stoniness and wetness class. Fieldwork is normally a grid of auger borings across the site, supplemented by soil pits, at a density appropriate to the variability of the ground.

Commission the survey from a soil scientist with agricultural land classification experience, and ask for the raw auger logs as well as the report. A survey that produces a grade with no supporting profile descriptions is not evidence anyone can test. Professional review of this sort of work is strongly advised, and for specialist technical reports, qualified professional input may be required.

Survey timing and soil conditions

Augering is possible for much of the year, but the results depend on conditions. Waterlogged ground makes wetness class assessment unreliable and can make augering physically impossible. Frozen or baked ground gives poor recovery and misleading texture assessment.

Plan the survey for a period when the soil is moist but not saturated, and record the antecedent weather in the report. Objectors and consultees do read this section, and a survey carried out in the middle of a drought or immediately after prolonged rain gives them something to argue about.

Standing crops are the other constraint. Access needs the occupier's agreement and the timing has to work around the farming calendar, which on an arable site usually means a window after harvest.

Making the sequential case for the site

The sequential argument is not a national requirement in the way the flood risk sequential test is, but authorities expect something equivalent, and the better applications supply it without being asked.

Set out the search area, and explain what defined it. For solar that is almost always the grid connection: the available capacity at a particular substation, the connection offer, and the cost of cable routing. Then show the sites considered, the grade of land at each, and why they were discounted, whether for grid reasons, heritage or designation constraints, willing landowners or deliverability.

Be specific rather than generic. A paragraph saying that alternatives were considered and rejected persuades nobody. A table naming five candidate parcels with their constraints does.

Reversibility, soil protection and restoration

The strongest argument an applicant has is that the land is not lost. Solar development is reversible in a way that housing is not, and permissions are normally time limited with decommissioning and restoration secured by condition.

Make that argument concrete. Mounting on driven piles rather than concrete foundations. Cable trenching with soils stripped, stored and replaced in sequence following the published construction code of practice for soils. Minimal hardstanding, limited to the substation compound and the access track. A defined operational period, a decommissioning method statement and a restoration scheme secured by condition or obligation, with a bond where the authority asks for one.

Soil condition after 40 years under grass, undisturbed and unfertilised, is frequently better than it was at the start. Say so, and say what evidence supports it, rather than asserting it. The same discipline about end of life material recovery that sits behind pre-redevelopment audits and reuse targets applies to panel and frame recovery at decommissioning.

Grazing, biodiversity and dual use arguments

Continued agricultural use between and beneath the rows is the other half of the reversibility case. Sheep grazing is the usual proposal and it works where row spacing, fencing and water supply are designed for it from the outset rather than added afterwards.

Biodiversity net gain is mandatory, and a solar site converting arable to species rich grassland with hedgerow enhancement can deliver gain comfortably on site. That is a genuine benefit, and it is also a commitment that has to be managed and monitored for 30 years, which means a management plan and a party responsible for it.

Do not overclaim. A scheme described as agricultural land in continued productive use, with no grazing agreement, no water supply and fencing that excludes livestock, will be read for what it is.

Evidence that answers the usual objection

The objection is almost always the same: prime farmland is being taken out of food production during a period of concern about food security. Answer it with evidence rather than with a policy quotation.

Provide the site specific classification with the auger logs, a plan showing the grade distribution across the site with areas in hectares, the alternatives assessment tied to grid capacity, the proposed operational period with decommissioning secured, the soil handling method, the grazing or management regime with the mechanism securing it, and the biodiversity gain position. Where the site does include some best and most versatile land, say so plainly and explain how much and why the layout cannot avoid it.

Carbon arguments help at the margin, and a Whole Life Carbon Assessment or an equivalent figure for the scheme's generation over its life gives the benefit side of the balance something to weigh. Keep the wider policy narrative in a Sustainability Statement so the classification evidence stands on its own.

One more check before submission. Larger solar schemes are consented as nationally significant infrastructure rather than by the local authority, and the capacity threshold for that route has been changed, so confirm the current figure applies to your scheme before choosing the application route.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority and Natural England before relying on it.

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