New Ludlow solar farm plans revealed

Green energy developers have now set their sights on land at Rock Farm, Rocks Green, to the east of the A49 bypass around Ludlow.

The site is only a few fields away from Squirrel Lane, where there is already a planning application for a 5MW solar farm on the Henley Hall estate by German developers Kronos Solar.

Residents fear their area of countryside will end up looking like an "industrial zone".

The new plan, by Global Renewable Construction Limited, is only at the first-stage to see if an environmental impact assessment would be needed before going ahead with a full application, so no details have yet been revealed on the size or nature of the proposed solar farm.

However, with anti-solar farm campaigners Save South Shropshire Countryside already geared up to fight the Henley Hall application, the fresh application is unlikely to go unchallenged.

Peter van Duijvenvoorde, chairman of the group, said he was "horrified" at the continued glut of plans for large areas of solar panels across the Shropshire countryside, after campaigners successfully fought off four applications in the last six months.

Joining forces with the group are neighbours from around the two Ludlow sites, which flank Ledwyche Brooke.

Pamela and Chris Smith live on Squirrel Lane next to both sites. Mrs Smith, 52, who keeps alpacas on her land, called the new Rock Farm proposal "daft".

She said: "It's fairly open countryside there and there seems to be no attempt to hide it from view. Both applications will be quite visible from where we are and, I would imagine, from a lot of other places.

"They are just so close to each other. It really is going to make us look like an industrial site if they both go up.

"There has go to be something against the cumulative effect that kicks in at some point."

She said Shropshire relied on its landscape for tourism and such developments would discourage visitors from coming and staying in the area.

She will be joining members of the Save South Shropshire Countryside at a public meeting of Ludlow and Clee Local Joint Committee at Knowbury Village Hall on Thursday.

At the meeting campaigners will join local councillors in putting questions to the Henley Hall developers, and Malcolm Price, Shropshire Council's lead member for planning, will also talk about the planning process for solar farms.

Meanwhile at Whitton, EBS Energy LLP has a re-submitted an application in for a 4.3MW solar farm after a larger-scale 8.6MW development was turned down by Shropshire Council in October.