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Surrounded by rolling farmland and boasting thatched Tudor cottages, a pub and a church recorded in the Domesday Book, one could say Salford Priors is the epitome of a classic English village.
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Priors → see → village
But residents of the picturesque community – and others along Warwickshire's border with Worcestershire – are up in arms over plans for what would become one of the UK's biggest solar farms.
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what → become → farms
They say the scheme will turn prime arable land into a 'crystal desert' with communities blighted by glint and glare and natural habitats destroyed.
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habitats → say → glint
The proposed Arrow Valley Solar project will span an area of four square miles and see solar arrays and battery storage systems in four zones across both counties, all connected by a network of underground cables.
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all → propose → cables
The project is of such a scale that it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and could generate up to 500megawatts of energy, enough to power about 235,000 homes annually.
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it → class → homes
The site, which is expected to become operational by 2031 if planning permission is granted, covers 4,353 acres, equivalent to 2,468 full-size football pitches.
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permission → expect → pitches
Some of the panels will be 'tracker' variants the size of double-decker buses which follow the trajectory of the sun.
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which → follow → sun
Paul Wareing, 68, said the farm would cover sections of the Vale of Evesham – renowned for its fertile land and an important fruit and asparagus growing region, and destroy 'quintessential English countryside'.
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farm → say → countryside
The semi-retired former government project manager said: 'People are only just waking up to the scale of this thing.
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People → say → thing
It will destroy our green and pleasant land.'
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It → destroy → land
Salford Priors in Warwickshire will be one of the closest villages to the giant solar farm
David Smith is upset this farmland near his home in Abbots Morton, Warwickshire, will be swallowed up by the solar farm
The project spans four square miles along the border between Warwickshire and Worcestershire
Mr Wareing, who lives with wife Joanna, 69, in Salford Priors – a former Warwickshire village of the year winner – said that a field designated as housing battery units to store excess energy was the site of a wildfire which threatened the village last month.
He added: 'If there had been batteries in-situ then there would have been hell to pay.
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He → swallow → situ
This scheme will turn a beautiful area into a giant industrial estate.
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scheme → turn → estate
'The irony is that I live in a conservation area and if I wanted to put solar panels on my roof I wouldn't be allowed.
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I → live → roof
Instead schemes like this are allowed to blight the countryside around us.
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schemes → allow → us
Much of the land for the scheme will be provided by the nearby 6,000-acre Ragley Estate – which was at the centre of a bitter High Court family trust dispute last year.
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which → provide → dispute
David Smith, a retired electricity board worker from Abbots Morton, accused Henry Seymour, the 9th Marquess of Hertford who inherited the £85million ancestral estate in 1991, of 'destroying this corner of Warwickshire'.
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who → accuse → Warwickshire
Mr Smith, 68, said: 'How will he be remembered after this?
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he → say → this
St James's church in Weethley enjoys a stunning vista overlooking the Cotswolds – but the view is set to be obliterated by solar panels, residents say
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residents → enjoy → panels
Mr Smith said the new solar scheme will result in panels positioned just yards from his home.
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panels → say → home
The land, currently used to grow oil seed rape, would flood because underground drainage pipes would be 'smashed' by the framework for the solar panels, he feared.
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he → use → panels
But the landowner, who said he had agreed to lease 200 acres for at least 30 years as part of the development, said farming was becoming 'unviable'.
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farming → say → development
'If the scheme gets the go-ahead there will be sheep on here – it's going to be built so they can graze', the farmer, who declined to be named, said.
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who → get → ahead
'I'm losing money growing crops'.
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I → lose → crops
NSIPs require a specific type of planning permission called 'development consent', with the final decision resting with the Secretary of State.
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decision → require → State
A public consultation into the project opens at the end of this month.
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consultation → open → month
Banners such as this one have been appearing in villages around the area
The scheme will turn prime farmland and rolling countryside used by walkers into a 'giant industrial estate', residents say
Land earmarked for the scheme spans at least 11 parishes, with other villages and hamlets affected including Broome, Cleeve Prior and the hamlet of Weethley, where a stunning vista behind St James's church is set to be decimated by solar panels.
Dr Jane Cornwall, a psychologist and church warden at St James's, runs a mindfulness group from the building for people with anxiety and depression.
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Cornwall → appear → anxiety
She said: 'People come here to enjoy the unadulterated view, to walk and enjoy the peaceful tranquillity.
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People → say → tranquillity
I'm very concerned and the company behind this scheme have done nothing to allay people's fears.
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company → do → fears
But a villager in Dunnington who was in favour of the scheme, and green energy in general, said: 'The panels near here won't be visible from the houses and will mainly be on estate land which isn't used for much at the moment.
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which → say → moment
Arrow Valley Solar is one of slew of super-sized solar parks to enter the planning system over the last year.
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Solar → enter → year
Earlier this year, the government approved what was up until then the UK's largest power-producing solar farm, following a planning inquiry.
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what → approve → inquiry
The 800megawatt Springwell Solar Farm, between Lincoln and Sleaford, will cover 3,163 acres and power 180,000 homes.
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Farm → cover → homes
A decision on a proposed 4,361-acre 'Great North Road' solar park, which could generate enough electricity for 400,000 homes, beside the A1 in Nottinghamshire is expected next month.
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which → propose → Nottinghamshire
Fields between Salford Priors and Dunnington will form part of the solar farm
Jamie Gleeson, Project Development Manager for Arrow Valley Solar, said the development would be 'sympathetic to the local area's environment, character and history'.
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development → form → environment
He added: 'The project is being developed to help meet growing demand for secure, home-grown renewable energy and will be shaped by a comprehensive programme of environmental and technical assessments, alongside feedback from local communities and stakeholders.
'
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project → add → communities
We recognise that people have questions about what the proposals could mean for the local area and would encourage anyone interested in the project to take part in our forthcoming public consultation'.
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proposals → recognise → consultation
Ragley Estate said it understood some residents had concerns over the scheme, 'for which Ragley is one of a number of landowners that are involved'.
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that → say → landowners
It said that, ahead of the consultation, the 'Arrow Valley Solar project team are best placed to respond to any queries or concerns'.
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team → say → queries
Last November, the Earl of Yarmouth, William Seymour, was saddled with a £1.3million legal bill after losing a battle over the running of the estate.
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Earl → saddle → estate
The earl, then 31, had been involved in a spat with his parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, since 2018 when they objected to his wedding to former Goldman Sachs banker Kelsey Wells – now Lady Yarmouth.
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they → involve → Wells
…and 2 more, not listed.
