This petition calls on the Government to protect the rural character of Rutland and the Stamford villages, and thousands of acres of the best and most versatile agricultural land, by saying no to Canadian Solar and its use of Uyghur blood labour and no to the Mallard Pass solar plant. I thank the 3,414 people who physically signed the petition —that is a colossal number for an extremely rural area—and give a huge thank you to the Mallard Pass Action Group for its leadership and dedication, in particular Sue Holloway, Helen Woolley and Adele Stainsby, who are in the Gallery today, as well as Tony Orvis, Philip Britton and Trevor Burfield. The petition is also delivered in tribute to Keith Busfield.

The 3,414 petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to take into account the concerns of the petitioners and reject the proposed development of the 2,175-acre Mallard Pass solar plant on the Rutland and Lincolnshire borders.

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,

Declares that the proposed Mallard Pass solar plant should be rejected; further that the inappropriate scale of this development would lead to irreversible damage to the community due to the loss of quality, productive agricultural land, the loss of the natural character of the countryside, lasting damage on biodiversity and the environment, damage to historical assets and identity, and the risk of a solar plant produced by forced labour in the developers’ supply chain.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002919]