Dear Resident,

I am sure that you are as concerned as I am about the proposals by Hastings Borough Council to install industrial scale solar panels in Hastings Country Park.
Solar energy has been a fantastic source of clean energy. I welcome it’s use on roofs, brown field sites & areas of land such as near motorways .
As Secretary of State for Energy I oversaw its continued growth.

But Solar expansion should however not be done at the expense of our natural environment.

I would therefore, ask that you join me in opposing Hastings Borough Council’s plans to install solar panels in Hastings Country Park – a move, which would damage our much-valued local green space.

Here are some reasons why you should oppose the scheme:

• It would destroy up to 10 acres of the Country Park which is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• The income that the Council has predicted that it will make from the scheme is wholly unreliable.
• There has been no consultation with local people including the Country Parks Management Forum about the scheme.
• It sets a dangerous precedent for development in the Country Park

Let’s keep our Country Park free of industrial scale solar development

Kind regards,

Amber Rudd
MP for Hastings and Rye