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Conservative Party Conference: Debate sparks question on whether landowners should be taxed for taking farmland out of production for solar

Governments present and past have told farmers they are custodians of the countryside for the work they do to maintain landscapes and safeguard food security. But the drive for Net Zero and the number of solar developments in the countryside has led to farmers wondering if they are now going to be custodians of solar?

Chris Brayford

08 October 2025 鈥� 4 min read

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"We do not want to be property developers and we do not want to stewards of solar. We want to be farmers."

Taxing landowners who take productive land out of production for solar could help to even up access to affordable farmland for young farmers, food producers have claimed. During a fringe event at the...

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