A proposal has been put forward to cover 130 acres of nature-rich Shropshire farmland: between Walton and Vernolds Common, near Craven Arms, Shropshire, with a 20-22 megawatt industrial solar installation.

We support renewable energy. We do not support putting it in the wrong place, on land that has been farmed with the environment in mind for decades and is home to confirmed protected and declining wildlife.

A breeding survey carried out by a BTO-accredited ecologist in June 2026 found eight skylark breeding territories within the proposed site . Skylarks are a Red List species and a recognised indicator of healthy farmland. The Shropshire Barn Owl Group has confirmed an active barn owl nestbox on this land since 2005, which has produced 14 owlets, alongside a mature oak tree barn owls have used to breed and roost for generations. Barn owls are a Schedule 1 protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and Shropshire's barn owl population has declined by nearly 50% since 1932.

A 2019 ecological survey of this farm, carried out with the National Farmers' Union, recorded 168 plant species and 96 animal species in a single day,  including several nationally scarce species and a rare orchid.

There is already a solar farm within 3km of this site. Shropshire Council's own planning officers have identified this as a cumulative impact that needs to be properly assessed, yet the Council has so far ruled that this proposal doesn't require a full Environmental Impact Assessment. We believe that decision should be reconsidered given the evidence already gathered.

We are asking Shropshire Council, and everyone with a say in this decision, to recognise that this is the wrong location for a development of this scale,  and to protect this land, its wildlife, and the community around it.

Sign this petition if you believe renewable energy has its place — and that place isn't here.