Campaigners fighting plans for a huge solar farm on Green Belt land near Rotherham are urging others to join a walk this weekend “for the sake of future generations”.

Plans were revealed for Whitestone Solar Farm last November which opponents said amounts to the size “of a small city” and would destroy what was once an Anglo-Saxon hunting ground.

Because of its size covering 1,200 acres, it will need direct clearance from the Government – which is backing a huge expansion of solar in the UK.

Secretary of “Save Our Greenbelt – Conisbrough Parks” Philip Knight said he wants people “to truly visualise the sheer scale of the proposed solar development and show your support”, adding: “Your children and grandchildren will be forever grateful that you made a stand when it really mattered.

Residents oppose the building of the solar farm on 1200 acres of green belt land near the village of Conisbrough. Picture: James Hardisty. Date: 29th January 2025.

placeholder image — Residents oppose the building of the solar farm on 1200 acres of green belt land near the village of Conisbrough. Picture: James Hardisty. Date: 29th January 2025.

“The proposed solar development is risking our green belt spaces, impacting food security, and having a detrimental effect on the environment and actually having a detrimental impact on the planet and Net Zero. These spaces are vital for our mental health and wellbeing, and we must protect them for future generations.”

Residents from Conisbrough, Clifton, Micklebring, Ravensfield and Firsby, are being asked to gather at Park Lane, off Sheffield Road, Conisbrough, at 11.30am on Saturday (Aug 16), to walk to the Hilltop Pub, Conisbrough.

Local resident, professional boxer and three-weight world champion Terri Harper is expected to attend.

There are two routes, 2.3 miles or 3.5 miles, and both will be clearly signposted.

Mr Knight said people often confused solar farms with small-scale rooftop solar, which don’t use valuable agricultural land and can cut bills: “This is private companies profiting off the back of the green agenda. People don’t benefit and energy prices don’t reduce.”

He is writing to John Healey MP asking for the scheme to be delayed for more investigations into the area’s past.

Last month a Romano-British Villa, near Conisbrough Park Farm, one of the very small number of villas to be identified in Yorkshire, was given scheduled monument status.

The villa, including a stone-built Roman bath house, was first identified in 1984.

A large number of proposals in Yorkshire have been approved since Labour came to power, with schemes clustering in certain areas like Beverley, where there is access to the grid. More than 300 solar farms are currently awaiting or under construction in Yorkshire and the Humber. Last month a planning inspector overturned East Riding Council’s refusal of planning permission for a 49.9MW solar farm near Tickton.

Residents tried unsuccessfully to argue that there is simply too much development in the area.

Carr Farm, Tickton, is adjacent to the consented 49.8MW Kenley House solar farm, a few minutes walk from another approved scheme at Tickton, while the proposed mega farm, the 320MW Peartree Hill, is directly adjacent. George McManus, spokesman for East Riding Against Solar Expansion, said: “We are sleep walking into a situation which cannot be reversed.”