A council leader has denied inciting violence after he made a video where he pretended to destroy a solar farm with a rocket launcher.
According to Daniel Elmer, leader of South Norfolk Council, the video in which he simulates a solar farm being blown up with a toy rocket launcher is ‘very clearly a joke’.
Mr Elmer revealed in a statement that the spoof was ‘intended as a parody’, and that he believes ‘people appreciate a bit of straight-talking’.
While opponents have slammed the move as ‘troubling’, Mr Elmer has rejected the claims that the council is ‘inciting violence’ as ‘laughable’.
Mr Elmer said: ‘I do not believe for one second anyone is going to watch a South Norfolk council video of me and go out there and think, I can procure a rocket launcher and blow up a solar farm.
‘It is the Government that has crossed the line in supporting these huge solar farms that will do nothing for south Norfolk but blight our countryside.’
The council has confirmed that the move was intended to foster participation among members of the community, following the launch of the local authority’s Landscape Susceptibility consultation.
‘The video is designed to get people talking and give us feedback on what is an extremely important issue for our residents, and it has worked’, Mr Elmer added.
