Residents in Tilney St Lawrence are mobilizing against a massive £25bn energy and data infrastructure project in Norfolk. the proposed Longmarsh Green Energy site would combine a massive solar farm with a large-scale data centre on 4,700 acres of agricultural land.
A 4,700-acre footprint larger than Heathrow Airport
The Longmarsh Green Energy project , a joint venture involving Evolution Power Ltd and the Finnish sustainable energy firm Korkia, represents an industrial scale unprecedented for the region. As reported by the source, the development would span 4,700 acres, making the site roughly 50 percent larger than the United Kingdom's largest airport. The project is designed to feature an eight-storey data centre stretching 600 meters in length, capable of consuming up to one gigawatt of power.
To support this massive energy demand, the developers plan to construct an adjacent solar farm capable of generating 1.3GW of electricity. While the developers aim to make this the largest solar farm in the country by 2032 , the sheer physical presence of the fcaility has caused alarm. The project is led by Evolution Power Ltd directors Giles Frampton and Conor McNally, who are positioning the site as a cornerstone for future UK economic growth.
The loss of wheat for 25.5 million loaves
The proposed site sits atop some of the most fertile agricultural land in the Fenland region, leading to significant concerns regarding food security. Local campaigners have calculated that if the 4,700 acres were used for wheat production instead of industrial development, it could yield enough to produce 25.5 million loaves of bread—effectively meeting the nation's bread requirements for three full days.. This potential loss of prime growing land is a central pillar of the local opposition.
Beyond agriculture, the project poses a direct threat to local biodiversity, specifically the Tilney-cum-Islington heronry. This area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and serves as a critical habitat for approximately 80 grey heron nests, marking it as the largest breeding colony of its kind in Norfolk. Residents fear the industrialization of the landscape will permanently disrupt these delicate ecosystems.
The 85 percent grid-dependency concern
The environmental credentials of the Longmarsh Green Energy project are being heavily scrutinized by the local resistance group , Stop Longmarsh. While the developers promote the project as a green energy solution, the group argues that the solar farm's output is insufficient to meet the data centre's constant power needs . According to the report, campaigners claim that up to 85 percent of the electricity required to run the data centre will still need to be sourced from the national grid.
This discrepancy highlights a growing tension in the transition to renewable energy: the gap between intermittent solar production and the 24/7 enegy demands of modern diital infrastructure. Critics argue that the reliance on conventional electricity sources undermines the very environmental benefits the developers are advertising.
Why developers rejected the Tilney St Lawrence public meeting
Transparency has become a major flashpoint in the conflict between the developers and the community of 1,500 people in Tilney St Lawrence. Barry Ayres, Chairman of the Tilney St Lawrence Parish Council, noted that developers rejected an invitation to hold a public meeting on November 2. This lack of engagement has fueled suspicions regarding the project's impact on local life, including noise, light pollution, and heavy construction traffic on narrow rural roads.
Several critical questions remain unanswered for the local population.. Residents have repeatedly asked why the developers cannot utilize existing brownfield sites rather than destroying prime farmland, yet they claim to have received no satisfactory responses. Furthermore, Dr. Martin Little, a retired environmental scientist, has raised concerns about whether the UK government is overlooking local objections to allow massive projects like those proposed by Evolution Power Ltd and Korkia to proceed.
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