Farmer fears 'dramatic impact' of solar plans

A tenant farmer fears "a pretty dramatic" impact on his livelihood if a proposed solar farm on the land he works goes ahead.

Rob Alderson, a third-generation farmer near the village of Onibury in south Shropshire, said he thought the development would be more detrimental to his livelihood than "if HS2 went through" his farm.

He said the solar panels would cover 90 acres of land, but due to the location of the suggested site, 130 acres would be taken out of use.

A planning application has not been submitted, but an initial screening for where the site could be built has started.

The developer has been approached for comment.

Alderson, who has been on the same land next to the A47 for five decades, said any compensation he could get would be "peanuts" as he rented the land.

"When you're looking at a third of the farm that you're farming, then the actual effect it's going to have on my livelihood is going to be pretty dramatic."

Alderson continued and said as he is a beef, sheep and cereal farmer, he would struggle to "regulate, rotate, and have room for moving stock round".

"Getting left with such a small perimeter will be an end to this farm," he added.

Alderson has joined and been supported by the campaign group Keep Shropshire Beautiful.

The group said the area was "nature-rich with barn owls, skylarks and more than 150 species of plant", and has called for an environmental impact assessment by Shropshire Council.

The authority said such an assessment would not be required.

It added that it was "encouraging applicants to engage in pre-application discussions to understand what the constraints of the site are", and to "shape the necessary documentation" for the scheme.

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