Tenant farmers have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, warning that government promises to protect their livelihoods are being ignored as solar energy projects expand across the countryside.
In a letter from the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), chief executive George Dunn accused the government of abandoning commitments made before the 2024 general election.
He wrote that when solar developments are approved on tenanted land, “invariably the tenant farmer will be evicted from that land, rarely with adequate compensation for their loss.”
The TFA letter reminded Sir Keir of remarks he made as Labour leader in 2023, when he told the NFU conference: “Tenant farmers need a fair deal. They need to know their futures are secure… But we can’t do it by taking advantage of tenant farmers, farmers producing good British food on carefully maintained, fertile land.”
Since entering Downing Street, however, the association argues those words have been forgotten. It said: “It appears that it is easy to promise in opposition what is not delivered in government.”
The TFA cited several solar projects approved either as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) or at appeal, even when local authorities had refused them on the grounds of harm to tenant farmers.
The row highlights a growing tension between the UK’s drive for renewable energy and the need to safeguard domestic food production.
Solar developers argue large-scale schemes are vital to cut carbon emissions and deliver cheaper energy, while critics warn they risk displacing farming from some of the country’s most productive land.
According to government figures, solar already generates around 5% of the UK’s electricity, and the Solar Taskforce has set ambitions to quadruple capacity by 2035.
Much of this expansion will come from ground-mounted solar farms, which are increasingly being proposed on agricultural land.
Tenant farmers, who often have little security beyond medium-term leases, say they are particularly vulnerable. Unlike owner-occupiers, they can be forced off land once landlords see an opportunity to switch to energy production.
Existing compensation rules, set under tenancy law, have long been criticised as inadequate — a point highlighted in the Rock Review of agricultural tenancies published in 2022.
The TFA’s concerns have been amplified by a recent High Court decision against North Yorkshire farmer Robert Sturdy, who had challenged a solar scheme covering nearly half his tenancy.
Judges found inspectors were entitled to rely on existing statutory compensation provisions, with the court noting that “the Inspector is entitled to rely upon what parliament has already determined as the correct level of compensation.” For tenant advocates, this underlined the urgency of reform.
The government has already acknowledged the problem in its Solar Roadmap, promising that compensation for displaced tenants should be “adequate and fair.”
But the TFA says the commitment is meaningless without clear detail. Dunn said: “It is essential that we now have a firm commitment from the government to review and amend these provisions without further delay.”
He added that there was also “a moral obligation upon you to meet with Rob and Emma Sturdy to explain why your very clear promise to them and other tenant farmers has been so quickly and easily abandoned by the government that you lead.”
