Plans lodged for Whitchurch solar farm

Developers behind the proposal for Hadley Farm say the project will see about 25,740 panels powering about 1,700 homes.

Representatives from Lightsource Renewable Energy, the firm behind the project, said the farm would take about eight weeks to build and be used for about 30 years.

People living near the proposed site got to find out more about the scheme at a public exhibition in Whitchurch in May.

And residents generally reacted favourably of the scheme, believing it could be a step towards solving the town's power problems.

Councillor Rob Hewson, mayor of Whitchurch, said: "I think it is absolutely fantastic. What I liked is that they guaranteed most of that electricity that will be generated can come to Whitchurch."

The farm is one of a number being proposed for Shropshire, including large sites on fields near Telford and Shrewsbury.

David Lynskey, planner on behalf of Lightsource Renewable Energy, said: "The Hadley Farm solar proposal will increase the UK's sustainable, locally generated, energy supply by providing enough clean energy to power 1,700 households.

"Government policy promotes the development of large and small scale renewable energy developments.

"Consultation has been undertaken with the local planning authority, local parish council and local community, and issues raised during this engagement process have been addressed."

A four-page leaflet providing information on the proposal was mailed to 79 local residents and businesses in the area.

The firm says overall the feedback during the community consultation has been positive.

Lightsource Renewable Energy has also drawn up a similar scheme for a solar farm at Charity Farm, Burlton, near Wem.

The project would see about 66,000 panels created and power generated to about 4,350 homes.

Meanwhile, there are plans for an 80,000-panel solar farm capable of providing power to nearly 6,000 houses on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

Plans have been submitted by Bristol-based solar installation company Elgin Energy Esco Ltd to build the solar farm on a development site in Sundorne.

Similar plans for solar farms in Wheat Leasowes in Hadley, Telford, and Green Farm, about a mile north of Condover, near Shrewsbury, have also been put forward.

A campaign has begun to stop solar farms springing up on the hills around Cleobury Mortimer.

The Save Our Green Hills fight is a reaction to solar energy firms setting their sights on two farms around Neen Sollars.

Residents say such schemes would destroy the beauty of their rolling hills.