Residents clash with developers over 4,353-acre Arrow Valley solar farm proposal

Arrow Valley Solar plans to cover roughly 4,353 acres—equivalent to nearly 2,500 football pitches—across four zones on the Warwickshire-Worcestershire border, delivering up to 500 MW of power and battery storage for about 235,000 households. Classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, it bypasses ordinary planning permission and will be decided by the Secretary of State after a consultation at month’s end.

Residents of Salford Priors, Abbots Morton, Broome and Cleeve Prior warn that the array of tracker panels, some the size of double-deckers, will create glare, threaten wildlife and alter historic views from St James’s Church in Weethley. Farmers worry about drainage and impacts on crops in the Vale of Evesham, while a lease with the 6,000-acre Ragley Estate secures 200 acres for the project. Project manager Jamie Gleeson says the farm is essential for domestic renewable energy and will be designed with environmental assessments. The dispute mirrors a wider national debate as England approves ever larger solar farms, such as the 800 MW Springwell project.