A New Year message from CPRE Norfolk

We wish all our members, supporters and friends the very best for 2026, and hope you can all make the most of the beautiful Norfolk Countryside throughout the year.

The 12 months ahead will be momentous for the county and country.

On a positive note CPRE nationally will celebrate its 100th anniversary, albeit CPRE Norfolk will have to wait a few more years to mark our own centenary. We will be celebrating this occasion, and hope you will be able to join us at one of our events.

Conversely, we face the biggest destruction of countryside by development that we have ever envisaged. If the proposed mega solar farms in Norfolk get approved by the Government, it will be an act of catastrophic decimation of the county. It will lead to much more visible industrialisation than simply the sum of the land being taken, albeit that is already vast.

The case against these industrial solar sites will not be considered locally, but centrally by the Minister who has a track record of ignoring local concerns.

Critically, the mega solar farm approach will fail to deliver a sustainable solution to our fight against climate change. It will not reduce our collective energy bills, whatever the rhetoric. By the time the impact on food security, our environment and biodiversity is realised, it will be too late.

Ultimately it is unlikely any part of the county will survive intact – a disaster for communities and our tourism industry. This is very stark, but we will continue to do all we can alongside the community groups and others working tirelessly to bring some common sense to bear.

What you can do

Support CPRE Norfolk’s campaign work by becoming a member or making a donation.

Visit our online exhibition, Getting Solar OFF the Land, to explore what large-scale, developer-led solar schemes could mean for our county’s countryside, and what a better path to Net Zero could look like.

Thank you

We need your support more than ever, and thank you for being by our side as we face one of the biggest challenges imaginable.