Shropshire solar panel farm plan adapted after talks

Plans for a 35,000-panel solar farm, covering nearly 61 acres close to the village of Condover, near Shrewsbury, were revealed earlier this month.

An exhibition and leaflet drop was carried out by Stratus Environmental, the agent backing the proposal, on behalf of their client The Solar Building Company.

James Cook, spokesman for Stratus Environmental, said: "The exhibition was a beneficial exercise. About 50 people turned up and voiced their opinions. Tweaks have been made to the landscaping and reductions to the heights on some of the panels.

"This was done by taking in to account the views of those people living closest to the site. The plans have now been tweaked and the proposal is back in with Shropshire Council for discussion.

"The Solar Building Company made the changes to show they will listen to the concerns and views of local people. They thought, in this case, that those living in close proximity to the site warranted some additional consideration. These are not large scale changes but ones which we hope will make the scheme more acceptable.

"We wanted to hold the exhibition to show what the scheme is proposing and so people could get an understanding of what The Solar Building Company is proposing."

However, many local residents are still against the plan, claiming the glare and glint from the panels will be a visual eyesore in an local area of beauty.

If given the go-ahead the solar park will take four months to build and the 35,800 solar panels would be a maximum of 10 feet above the ground.

It is intended to operate for 25 years before the fields are returned to agricultural use.