Shropshire solar farm gets go-ahead despite objections

A 20,000 panel solar farm will be built in the north Shropshire countryside, despite objections from residents.The controversial plans, which had been halved in size since being refused earlier in the year, were approved by members of Shropshire Council's north planning committee at their meeting yesterday afternoon. Councillor David Lloyd, member for Gobowen, Selattyn & Weston Rhyn, said: "It's open countryside that is highly valued for recreational facilities by local people. Who would want to walk, ride or cycle around a power station? I wouldn't want that. "Reducing the scale doesn't reduce the feeling of local people about planting 20,000 glass panels in a field. It is open countryside and should be used for food production." [comments_cta] Selattyn & Gobowen Parish Council had also objected to the plans for similar reasons. Resident Brian Case also spoke against the plans during the meeting. He said: "This will blot our small community for at least 25 years and be an eyesore for many years." But Cllr Gerald Dakin, for Whitchurch South, said in his experience solar farms were not as disruptive as the residents feared. "In Prees Heath a similar application was approved eight months ago," he said. "It was built in 28 days and people going past thought it could be very visible, but I don't think we've received any complaints about it since it's been built, and it seems to be operating very successfully." Councillor Vince Hunt, for Oswestry West,  said he was also in favour of the plans. He said: "The wildlife in the site should be enhanced as the field will not be ploughed or disturbed for 25 years." [related_posts title="Related stories:"]     Bristol-based solar installation company Elgin Energy Esco Ltd had originally wanted to build a 78-acre, 40,000 panel solar farm, which would have been one of the largest in Shropshire, at Rhosygadfa on the edge of Gobowen. It then revised its plans, scaling them back to a smaller scheme taking up 52 acres – five agricultural fields - but those plans were rejected by Shropshire Council in July. The company has now further scaled back its plans to 33 acres - three fields - which could power 1,500 homes. Once the panels have been installed, the company plans to graze sheep on the fields, and it has promised that the panels would be removed at the end of their operational life, leaving no concrete pads or any other permanent reminder.