A date has been set for the appeal hearing against the decision to reject permission for plans to build a large solar farm to the south-east of Leamington.

An appeal has been made by Staffordshire Solar 1 Ltd to the Secretary of State against the decision made by Warwick District Council’s (WDC) planning committee earlier this year.

An Inspector has been appointed by the Secretary of State to determine this appeal.

The two-day hearing for the appeal will take place at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington from Wednesday February 4 2026.

Objectors to the solar farm plans stand outside Leamington Town Hall before the planning meeting in May. Among them is Warwick District Councillor Rebecca Davidson (Green, Radford Semele) who was one who spoke at the meeting. The district council's planning committee voted to reject the plans by a majority of 8/1. Picture supplied.

placeholder image — Objectors to the solar farm plans stand outside Leamington Town Hall before the planning meeting in May. Among them is Warwick District Councillor Rebecca Davidson (Green, Radford Semele) who was one who spoke at the meeting. The district council's planning committee voted to reject the plans by a majority of 8/1. Picture supplied.

After the hearing the Secretary of State will decide whether or not to grant planning permission.

Staffordshire Solar wants to build the solar farm and battery storage together with all associated works, landscaping, equipment and necessary infrastructure on 86 hectares of agricultural land on the outskirts of Radford Semele.

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 in May.

The proposals elicited a huge backlash from locals with more than 300 objections, including a petition signed by more than 1,200 people.

MP Matt Western (Lab, Warwick & Leamington), Radford Semele Parish Council and Warwickshire County Council’s landscape professionals all objected with the arguments against based on landscape harm, the loss of good quality agricultural land, open space and the cumulative impact of so many solar farms popping up locally.

The plans can be viewed on WDC’s planning portal using the reference W/24/1404