Picturesque villages across the country are set to be surrounded by sprawling solar farms as green energy firms plot to seize record amounts of land for Labour's Net Zero crusade.
Until now, controversial solar farms have mainly been confined to smaller sites next to industrial parks, main roads, estuaries and remoter rural areas.
But an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has discovered that plans are in place to build large-scale solar farms right up to the boundaries of historic villages - in some cases even up to the fences of families' back gardens.
It comes as this newspaper can also reveal that solar energy companies have hatched a 62,500-acre takeover of England and Wales's scenic landscapes since Labour took power in July last year.
The plans for 27 sprawling solar complexes, equivalent to an area the size of Birmingham, were lodged between July 2024 and this month, more than twice as many as the year before.
One village under threat is West Wratting in Cambridgeshire. Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book, the quintessentially English village is in rolling countryside and boasts a 14th-century church, tennis club and a family-run pub.
Most of the fairytale cottages and stone manor houses look out on to an expanse of unspoilt arable farmland and fields where horses graze. Views from the village have remained unchanged for centuries.
But official documents seen by The MoS show hundreds of villagers face the prospect of being walled in by a massive 3,700-acre, 500-megawatt solar farm - larger than Heathrow airport - to be built on the fields by developer Kingsway.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has discovered that plans are in place to build large-scale solar farms right up to the boundaries of historic villages - in some cases even up to the fences of families' back gardens
Pictured: a mock up of a huge solar farm set to be build in West Wratting
It comes as this newspaper can also reveal that solar energy companies have hatched a 62,500-acre takeover of England and Wales's scenic landscapes since Labour took power in July last year. Pictured: Ed Miliband
One village under threat is West Wratting (pictured) in Cambridgeshire. Recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book, the quintessentially English village is in rolling countryside and boasts a 14th-century church, tennis club and a family-run pub
An ordnance survey map submitted with Kingsway's plans shows the idyllic fields shaded in blue to signify where swathes of solar panels will be constructed.
The giant project will also see the nearby villages of Weston Green and Weston Colville, with its church dating from the 11th century - and which looks out over wheatfields and hedgerows - completely encircled by the dark industrial panels.
They are among a number of villages at risk of being surrounded, including South Milford in North Yorkshire and Norton in Wiltshire. Welbourn in
Lincolnshire will be encircled by Leoda Solar Farm. Three Norfolk villages that appear in the Domesday Book - Hempnall, Saxlingham and Tasburgh - could also be partly surrounded by a vast solar farm run by East Pye Solar.
It is all part of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's relentless drive to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050 - which saw regulator Ofgem this week blame the 'policy cost' of wind farms for a shock increase in the energy price cap.
We have also discovered that, according to fearful residents, solar energy companies have been going door to door 'demanding' mortgage and rental details from homeowners who allege the companies are using 'threatening' tactics to force a land grab.
Once their plans for major solar farms are approved by the Energy Secretary, developers are handed compulsory purchase powers, usually reserved for the Government, to seize residents' private land and buildings without their consent if they refuse to sell.
Official documents seen by The MoS show hundreds of villagers in West Wratting (pictured) face the prospect of being walled in by a massive 3,700-acre, 500-megawatt solar farm - larger than Heathrow airport - to be built on the fields by developer Kingsway
An ordnance survey map submitted with Kingsway's plans shows the idyllic fields shaded in blue to signify where swathes of solar panels will be constructed
The giant project will also see the nearby villages of Weston Green and Weston Colville (pictured), with its church dating from the 11th century - and which looks out over wheatfields and hedgerows - completely encircled by the dark industrial panels
It is all part of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's relentless drive to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050 - which saw regulator Ofgem this week blame the 'policy cost' of wind farms for a shock increase in the energy price cap
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One mother in Balsham, a village a few miles from West Wratting, said developer Kingsway sent her a letter asking details about her land.
She said they then made an unsolicited visit, warning her to 'work with them' or face having her field seized by compulsory purchase order.
Last night, Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho accused Mr Miliband of 'swamping beautiful villages across England with solar farms and wind turbines because of his obsession with his own Net Zero targets'.
She added: 'Ed Miliband is intent on carving up the countryside. Solar uses 1,000 times more land than nuclear and relies on importing kit often made by Chinese slaves.
'In government, I made clear we should stop villages being flooded by solar farm applications but it appears Ed has given in to appease his friends in the climate lobby.'
Builder Andy Fryatt, 56, who lives near West Wratting in a £1 million farmhouse with wife Francine, 53, said the risk of being surrounded by a connection corridor for the Kingsway project around the village was a 'nightmare'.
He said: 'We bought our home seven years ago for the countryside and peace and quiet. It was our little piece of heaven. It is so idyllic and peaceful. We moved here to enjoy life but it has been ruined by this solar farm which will scar the landscape.'
He said he received a Land Interest Questionnaire marked 'do not share' last month, asking him to disclose his mortgage details, rental arrangements and what he used his land for.
Last night, Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho (pictured) accused Mr Miliband of 'swamping beautiful villages across England with solar farms and wind turbines because of his obsession with his own Net Zero targets'
Corporate consultant Faye Parker (pictured), 46, who lives with husband Dan and their 12-year-old daughter in West Wratting (pictured), said Kingsway sent her a letter on April 30 demanding access to her land
Builder Andy Fryatt, 56, who lives near West Wratting (pictured) in a £1 million farmhouse with wife Francine, 53, said the risk of being surrounded by a connection corridor for the Kingsway project around the village was a 'nightmare'
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Mr Fryatt, who recently survived a stroke, claimed the 'underhanded' and 'threatening' correspondence was making him worry about his health.
Kingsway sends out these letters to collect information about land it could develop to ensure the planning application can be approved by Mr Miliband.
In Weston Green, a village a few miles from Mr Fryatt also set to be swallowed up by the project, residents have received similar letters.
Corporate consultant Faye Parker, 46, who lives with husband Dan and their 12-year-old daughter, said Kingsway sent her a letter on April 30 demanding access to her land.
She said Kingsway told her it could use a court order to access her field if she did not give her consent - and she said men followed up by knocking on her door just days after she received the letter.
Ms Parker said: 'Our village will be turned into an industrial wasteland. There is nothing here but countryside.
'These plans will ruin people's way of life. All it is good for is lining people's pockets.'
Mother-of-three Emily Vestey is in a tenant farming family which uses a plot of land near Balsham, a few miles from Ms Parker.
She said Kingsway first inquired about the land her family uses earlier this year with a 'threatening' letter similar to the one Ms Parker received.
She alleged the company warned her to 'work with them' or face having their land seized by compulsory purchase order.
The surge comes as Labour is set to make it easier for developers to use compulsory purchase powers by making it more difficult for landowners to appeal them. The legislation at the heart of this is Gordon Brown's Planning Act 2008 (Pictured: Gordon Brown)
Liz and Terry Hewson (pictured), both 63, face their £1million barn conversion in nearby Milford Grange being 'completely surrounded' by solar panels. Ms Hewson, a semi-retired NHS worker, told The MoS: 'I am worried it would be like living in a concrete and glass prison'
Like Mr Fryatt and Ms Parker in Cambridgeshire, Ms Hewson (pictured with husband Terry) claimed she was 'bombarded' by Land Interest Questionnaires asking about her mortgage. The pair are now planning to relocate
She said: 'They have behaved threateningly and incredibly bullishly. They haven't been clear with us from the start. It is smoke and mirrors tactics.
'After we decided we wanted to keep the land, they told us to comply or face having it bought through compulsory purchase at a lower price.'
Kingsway's is one of 27 solar farm proposals lodged since Labour's election victory last year. It compares to only 13 proposals submitted in the year before and just six between 2018 and 2022.
The surge comes as Labour is set to make it easier for developers to use compulsory purchase powers by making it more difficult for landowners to appeal them.
The legislation at the heart of this is Gordon Brown's Planning Act 2008, which Mr Miliband helped draft during his first stint as Energy Secretary.
It defined large-scale energy projects such as solar and wind farms as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), handing approval to the Energy Secretary instead of councils.
Labour's new Planning and Infrastructure Bill would mean developers no longer have to consult people who could make a claim against losing land to a compulsory purchase order.
It would also make it more difficult for a landowner to appeal a compulsory purchase order by allowing appeal courts to throw out cases deemed 'unmeritorious'.
Labour's new Planning and Infrastructure Bill would mean developers no longer have to consult people who could make a claim against losing land to a compulsory purchase order. It would also make it more difficult for a landowner to appeal a compulsory purchase order
In South Milford (pictured), North Yorkshire, residents are facing similar threats but from a different developer
Light Valley Solar is planning a 2,500-acre site (pictured), the equivalent of 2,600 football pitches, to swallow up land around the quaint parish with a Grade II-listed church and tearoom
Mr Miliband is also set to change the definition of a solar NSIP from one generating 50 megawatts to one generating 100mw.
This relaxation of planning laws will make it easier and cheaper for developers to build solar farms generating up to 100mw as they will no longer need to be signed off by ministers.
The Housing Department has claimed that allowing larger projects to move through local planning rules could result in 'faster developing' at 'lower cost'.
In South Milford, North Yorkshire, residents are facing similar threats but from a different developer.
Light Valley Solar is planning a 2,500-acre site, the equivalent of 2,600 football pitches, to swallow up land around the quaint parish with a Grade II-listed church and tearoom.
Liz and Terry Hewson, both 63, face their £1million barn conversion in nearby Milford Grange being 'completely surrounded' by solar panels.
Ms Hewson, a semi-retired NHS worker, told The MoS: 'I am worried it would be like living in a concrete and glass prison, not the green fields I have seen for 30 years.
'I am incredibly sad. We bought this barn off the beaten track, it's a mile away from anything and surrounded by fields. We have lived here for 30 years but I don't want to be surrounded by solar panels for the rest of my life, so we are looking at moving.'
Ms Hewson (pictured with her husband Terry) told the MoS: 'I am incredibly sad. We bought this barn off the beaten track, it's a mile away from anything and surrounded by fields. We have lived here for 30 years but I don't want to be surrounded by solar panels for the rest of my life'
An Energy Department spokesman said: 'Developers do not automatically gain the right to purchase land - and anyone impacted by compulsory acquisition must be fairly compensated' (Pictured: West Wratting)
Kingsway denied using threatening or underhand tactics and said it followed a standard process for an NSIP. The company said it had not told anyone to sell land to make way for the project and it had not used any court orders to access land. Pictured: West Wratting
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Like Mr Fryatt and Ms Parker in Cambridgeshire, Ms Hewson claimed she was 'bombarded' by Land Interest Questionnaires asking about her mortgage.
In Anglesey, Lightsource BP has proposed a 3,000-acre solar farm across several villages and fields.
Sarah Pye, 37, of Rhosgoch, said the project would 'ruin the countryside' and devastate tourism.
She said: 'The process is absolutely disgusting. They put the fear of God into us thinking we will lose our home and land.'
An Energy Department spokesman said: 'Developers do not automatically gain the right to purchase land - and anyone impacted by compulsory acquisition must be fairly compensated.
Kingsway's is one of 27 solar farm proposals lodged since Labour's election victory last year. It compares to only 13 proposals submitted in the year before and just six between 2018 and 2022. Pictured: Shotwick Solar Energy Park in Deeside, Wales
'Solar is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.
'As of September last year, solar farms covered around 0.1 per cent of the total land area of the UK, while bringing huge benefits for the British public and for our energy security.'
Kingsway denied using threatening or underhand tactics and said it followed a standard process for an NSIP. The company said it had not told anyone to sell land to make way for the project and it had not used any court orders to access land.
A spokesman said: 'The compulsory acquisition powers within the DCO will ensure that Kingsway Solar will be able to gain the necessary land or rights for the construction and operation of the project.'
Light Valley Solar was approached for comment.