Wokingham suffers under a Lib Dem led unitary Council, doubtless like others around the country. There is nothing liberal about them, constantly looking for new ways to regulate and tax us. There is little that is democratic, ignoring what we want even when they do bother to consult us.
I have written before about their disastrous £5.5 m roundabout remodelling scheme. The public did not want it. The roads did not need it. We now have a former roundabout with no legal junction signs to guide drivers. The carriageway sports fading painted leaves with no clue as to their meaning or use.
Today I wish to report their latest likely folly. I have long been critical of Councils having access to relatively cheap loans to make “investments” in property, renewables etc that are not needed for Council operations. I got the last government to cut back on this. Some Councils have already borrowed too much, run out of money to pay the interest on the debts and needed a bail out and permission for yet higher taxes.
Wokingham now wants to sign contracts to borrow money to install a solar farm on land it owns. The original £20 m scheme to last 25 years has been stretched to £25 m or more and now to 40 years.The panels will need new inverters, will deteriorate with age and may need replacing before 40 years are up. There seem to be problems in getting a guarantee of when they could link it into the grid to be able to start selling electricity.
There are various views of whether it would get into profit and for how long it would need the borrowings. At a 6% interest rate, a little below current Public Works Loan Board rates the Council would face costs of £60 m over 40 years in interest. They will say they will be paying the loan off as they go. They also may put some cash into the investment at the start. Assuming they reduced the loan by making regular repayments maybe the total interest cost could still be around £25 m. In order to make these repayments the Council would need full access to the grid throughout the life of the project and a high enough electricity price to cover all costs and leave enough cash to both service the loan and make reductions in it by cash payments. This is unlikely to be guaranteed.
There is no way a Council should be taking such risks with public money. What do they expect by way of electricity charges for the long period of the plan? When will they secure a grid connection and reliable customers? How long will the panels last? How much will maintenance cost?
This is an easy £25 m saving, also savings millions in interest charges going forward. Surprise me Lib Dems. Stop the waste before it happens.
August 24, 2026
In many areas Lib Dems are now in competition with Greens. Perhaps this is a reason for the solar panels proposal.
It may not be relevant in Wokingham but the Liberal Democrats are the only party prepared to condemn the vicious actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. This wins them votes – even in local elections. Greens are also not tainted with ‘Friends of Israel’ groups.
August 24, 2026
if it takes their mind off rolling 20 mph limits to everywhere…
August 24, 2026
Both Wokingham Borough Council and the BBC have claimed that the Barkham Solar Farm project can power 10,500 homes. This is entirely misleading as the proposed battery storage will only be sufficient to smooth out electricity generation over 1-2 hours during daylight hours and of course there will be no electricity generated at night and almost nothing during the winter months. During the next decade, let alone in 40 years’ time, the electricity from nuclear, probably SMRs, will be far cheaper and far more abundant and reliable. Both solar and wind will become economic white elephants if not actually made in-operational by China throwing their kill switches.