While I suspect I’ll never make it to the Oscars I was pleased to join the “Rural Oscars” in Parliament last week celebrating rural businesses. These Countryside Alliance Awards are for the people and businesses that go the extra mile within their communities - supporting the local economy and championing local goods and services from butchers and pubs, to post offices and local firms.
I was supporting Creake Farmers’ Market which, having taken the honours in the East of England round, was highly commended in the Rural Enterprise category for the UK. This is well-deserved recognition of the market held on the first Saturday of each month with over 50 stalls to choose from offering a wide range of fresh local produce.
Just down the road from Creake Abbey is the Burn Valley winery which has just scooped 6 awards at the Wine GB East Anglia Awards. This family business is another local success story and is part of a cluster of wineries on our doorstep which are attracting many visitors to the area.
To boost the wine sector further one of the ideas I pressed the government to consider during debates on the Budget is a “cellar door” duty – removing excise duty for a number of bottles sold direct at wineries – which exists in Australia to encourage more wine tourism.
It is encouraging to see such national recognition for local producers who help promote Norfolk and our produce will very much be showcased at this week’s Royal Norfolk Show.
Increasingly there is greater appreciation of the importance of supporting local growers and producers. However, while food security is rising up the agenda it is increasingly coming into conflict with the government’s energy policy and particularly the drive for solar and grid infrastructure.
Last week I met National Grid again to set out constitutents’ concerns about their eastern green link plans for major infrastructure in the Walpole area, including a new substation and two converter stations. There is also a proposed new pylon scheme running 90 miles from Grimsby to the Walpole area – if some of this route was underground (like the link project) then the visual impact and opposition would be greatly reduced.
I have just submitted my response to the current consultation focusing on the scale of the infrastructure, location, impact during construction, need to compensate homeowners for loss of property value, loss of prime agricultural land, and the need for meaningful community benefits.
These projects come on top of two large solar farm projects near Castle Acre. Along with my colleague George Freeman MP for Mid Norfolk, I also raised constituents’ concerns about the cumulative impact of this energy infrastructure and the loss of agricultural land.
The sad reality is that the Energy Secretary has not seen a solar or grid project he doesn’t like. As decisions on large scale projects are made by his department the chances of him turning down applications are vanishingly thin. So while continuing to make the case against over-development, it is important for everyone affected to respond to consultations to mitigate the impact.
Despite the many challenges facing farmers and growers whether the family farm tax, subsidy reform, or higher costs, Norfolk is home to great produce which we should celebrate and enjoy!
