Delight as Shropshire solar farm bid rejected
Campaigners are celebrating after more plans for solar panels in Shropshire were thrown out by councillors.
A 25-acre development at Neen Sollars, near Cleobury Mortimer, is the fourth full solar farm application to be seen off by campaign group Save South Shropshire Hills.
Shropshire Council's south planning committee yesterday agreed that the proposal by TGC Renewables was "inappropriate in scale and character" for the picturesque hills around the small Shropshire village – despite being recommended for approval by officers.
Three other schemes – at Whitton, near Ludlow, Acton Scott, near Church Stretton, and at Tasley, near Bridgnorth – were all turned down in recent months, either by the committee members or planning officers.
The Neen Sollars decision was made after members of the committee had to make a trip by tractor out to the High Point Farm site in the morning, and were also shown walking spots from which it would be seen.
Developers claim the farm would provide an economic boost for the area and was on low quality land that had not been used for arable farming for about 20 years.
But speaking at the Shirehall meeting, Graham Clayworth, a resident and member of Save South Shropshire Hills, said that was "misleading" and that the campaigners' own expert had concluded there was only evidence that 30 per cent was of poor quality.
The committee voted to refuse the application on the grounds it did not preserve the character and environment of Neen Sollars, nor protect the historical setting of heritage assets in the area.
Speaking after the meeting, Peter van Duijvenvoorde, chair of Save South Shropshire Hills, said: "All the full applications we have fought against have been thrown out. They're (the developers) starting to understand that there is a lot of local opposition to these applications."
