Campaigners against solar farm near Leamington must now wait for appeal decision
Campaigners against plans for a large solar farm in the countryside to the south-east of Leamington must now wait for a decision to be made following an appeal hearing in the town last week.
Staffordshire Solar 1 Ltd appealed to the Secretary of State against the decision made by Warwick District Council’s (WDC) planning committee in May 2025 to reject the company’s plans for to build a solar farm and battery storage together with all associated works, landscaping, equipment and necessary infrastructure on 86 hectares (212-acres) of agricultural land on the outskirts of Radford Semele.
The two-day appeal hearing took place at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington on Wednesday and Thursday (April 15 and 16) after it had been pushed back from an earlier date in February.
Campaigners against the application protested outside the venue before the hearing started.
Since the plans were first put forward in November 2024, many Radford residents, with the support of Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western – who spoke on the first day of the hearing - have actively opposed them.
A petition set up by campaigners gained more than 1,450 signatures while a separate petition from Mr Western to Parliament had 440.
And there are more than 300 objections on Warwick District Council’s planning portal, including from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, The Ramblers Association, FoRGE, Warwick District Councillor Becky Davidson (Green, Radford Semele) and Mr Western.
The main brunt of the objections is the impact the solar farm would have on the land.
There are concerns about the loss of public footpaths, the effect that would have on the community and the impact on local wildlife.
The No Solar Farm in Radford Semele group, which has 242 active members, said: “Given the overwhelming amount of opposition, which includes a packed gallery at the planning committee meeting last May, wouldn’t it have been reasonable for the applicant to rethink the size and layout, and to re-engage with the community that this development is going to affect so profoundly?
"Staffordshire Solar could have genuinely engaged and listened to us.
"They could’ve designed a project that produces the same output of electricity with a much smaller footprint.
"They could’ve put design and the environment at the heart of the project, aimed for minimal impact, protected the rights of way, taken their time, altered their focus, used more appropriate technologies, and made better use of the space.
The group added: “They could’ve reduced the impact on wildlife, on food production and residents.
“But they haven’t.”
The plans were recommended for approval by WDC’s planning experts, their view being that the benefits outweighed the harms, but eight out of nine elected officials tasked with the final call said ‘no’ at the planning meeting last May.
Recurrent Energy, which is behind the project, has said the site would generate enough renewable energy to power about 20,651 homes and save 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Harry Wilder, head of business development, said the project would also help fulfil WDC’s renewable energy targets.
He said: "It will contribute both towards the UK’s Climate Emergency agenda and WDC’s ambitions to take action to mitigate the impact of climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
"South Warwickshire District has committed to generating 730 MW of renewable energy by 2030.
“The current generation capacity approved is 121 MW.
"This development will therefore make a significant contribution towards achieving that objective.”
The plans can be viewed on WDC’s planning portal using the reference W/24/1404.