19:00 on Friday 13th December 2013
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
[P]AUL STAINTON: So tonight (Thursday 12th December 2013) we bring everybody together that’s got something relevant to say about one of the biggest issues that I’ve ever known in Peterborough, in the 25 years I’ve lived in and around the city, the grand Newborough and Thorney solar debate. We also bring together two people who have played out a bit of a debate in public as well. The MP for Peterborough, Stewart Jackson, and the Leader of the Council, Marco Cereste. The key facts: the debate is about 900 acres of farmland North of Peterborough (East), described as good quality land, most of it around Newborough Thorney and Eye, fields that are used to farm crops to feed what is an ever-growing, as well known, population. But cover it in solar panels is the plan, and some wind turbine,. and you have, according to the Leader of the City Council, an income that will protect front line services. It will mean the people of Peterborough will have more, pay less, at a time when the Government has put the squeeze on local councils. Well tonight we’ll look at the wider issues, around the financial challenges of the Council, around the potential black hole in five years time in their finances, and how do we balance farm land, green energy, sustainability and the future of our children. We begin though with the two men who have been it’s fair to say I think right at the heart of the debate. We’ll start with Leader of the Council Marco Cereste. Marco, good evening. And just explain your position if you would.
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