A CAMPAIGNING farming family are to appear on the BBC's Countryfile show this weekend.

Robert Sturdy and his wife, Emma, who farm 240 acres on an AHA Tenancy at Eden Farm in Old Malton will feature on Sunday's programme following a visit by Countryfile team last week.

The couple founded the campaign Save Old Malton Countryside almost two years ago to protect their farmland from a solar development by the landlord, the Fitzwilliam Trust Corporation and developer Harmony Energy.

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Emma said: “We were delighted when Countryfile contacted us to learn more about our situation. The matter of landlords taking land out of production for non agricultural use, such as solar, is not isolated to Malton but our situation here is of national interest, due to the lack of consultation with us the tenant farmers, who face losing almost half our farmland, livelihood, business and future security to accommodate this proposal.”

The program will focus on tenant farmers following the publication of the recent Rock Review on Agricultural Tenancies which makes recommendations to government and emphasises the crucial role tenants play in British agriculture. 64% of agricultural land in England has a tenant as a custodian. The Review emphasises the importance of landlords and tenant farmers working together.

George Dunn, Chief Executive of the Tenant Farmers Association said “Tenant farmers and tenant farming are part and parcel of the fabric of the countryside and vital for our food and environmental security. It is simply unacceptable that the land occupation rights enjoyed by the Sturdys along with other tenant farmers can be tossed to the side so easily. Neither the Sturdy’s landlord nor the developer has followed the established guidelines for engaging in discussions and negotiations.

Meeting our renewable energy targets by moving good land out of agriculture into solar parks rather than using the vast area of rooves within our country’s built estate, and other brownfield sites, is simply madness. Not only is this land already delivering important high-quality food, it is delivering important environmental outcomes including carbon sequestration and storage and many other biodiversity and ecosystem services.

There are many reasons why the local planners should throw out the planning application that has been submitted by Harmony Energy. It is ill thought through and will have huge negative consequences on top of the impact it will have on the Sturdy's personal circumstances which is a legitimate concern within the planning process. The TFA stands with Rob and Emma in their campaign to stop this development.”

Yorkshire-based renewable energy company, Harmony Energy, submitted plans for just under 53 hectares earlier this month.

If approved, the site will generate sufficient power via 72,000 solar panels to meet the average annual electricity needs of 8,660 homes – or just over a third of the households in the Ryedale District.

In addition to the solar panels Harmony Energy say the plans include the creation of new wildflower meadows, woodland planting and improvements to existing hedgerows, creating an overall biodiversity net gain of more than 105 per cent.