The Shropshire Star and BBC report yet more planning applications for greenfield solar farms in the county, including at Condover.
I am not so keen on building solar farms in green fields. After all, one of the biggest industries is county is tourism and that relies on the beauty of green landscapes.
Energy minister Greg Barker has made it clear that he wants solar panels on the roofs of car parks, warehouses, supermarkets and other sites where they will not interrupt countryside views. The government’s emerging strategy on solar farms says as much.
Here in Ludlow we have a modern library which has southward gently sloping roofs. These are ideal for solar panels and they won’t one bit distract from the building’s beauty (or ugliness – take your own view on that).
So wake up Shropshire Council. You could generate a lot of electricity, make money to run the Library and take the pressure off our green fields.
There are lots of places we can put solar panels without eroding one of the county’s greatest assets, its green fields.