The figurehead of a Norfolk countryside charity has lamented the "deeply depressing" growth of massive solar farms across the county.
Sir Nicolas Bacon, of the Raveningham Estate in south Norfolk, is the county president for the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England), which celebrates its centenary year.
During CPRE Norfolk's annual meeting at Norwich Cathedral, he reflected on the importance of safeguarding the county’s unique landscapes and rural character.
He said he is supportive of "good development" - but he echoed the charity's campaigning concerns over "mega solar farms", following a proliferation of massive energy infrastructure projects and proposals in the area in recent years.
"One of the issues that I think is really tragic, is about the whole question of these solar farms," he said.
"Don't you dare call them farms - they are not, they are just the suburbanisation of the countryside.
"They are delocalising power generation. It generates electricity, but it has to go as part of the infrastructure into large pylons to transport that energy to wherever it is wanted.
"Whereas, for example, there are five square kilometres of industrial roof that could be used for solar panels, and there are probably many, many more houses which could have solar panels.
"The point is, it is a local source of energy, so it does not have to be transported across to London or Birmingham or wherever it is needed. I find it deeply depressing.
"But have we reached a nadir of where we are? I believe we should look at this positively, because we [the CPRE] are here to try and achieve things for the countryside."
Sir Nicholas also spoke of the value of environmental farming - highlighting a wetland restoration project at Raveningham which has created a "wonderful habitat for wading birds".
And he illustrated the importance of "good architecture", including houses with a sense of place and community, rather than generic developments with no community resources.
"It is these short-term aspects of development that drive me completely crackers," he said.
"There is no community involvement, they have 1,000 houses built but there are no other services - you don't build shops, you don't build the high streets, you don't build community hubs.
"All national housebuilders want to get every last penny for what they do. The Victorians would never have done this."
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