Act Now to Protect Our Countryside – Submit Your Views by 26 August
A Solihull resident is urging locals to speak out against controversial plans to build a large-scale solar farm on 90 hectares of protected green belt land in Catherine De Barnes.
Mason Beirne, West Midlands County Director for the cross-party campaign group Great British PAC, has warned that the proposed development at Woodhouse Farm, in the picturesque village of Catherine De Barnes near Solihull, would see “one of our most beautiful landscapes carpeted with Chinese-made solar panels for the next 40 years” if the scheme is approved.
The application, submitted by energy giant Total Energies, would see the site host solar panels and battery storage units, with the company claiming the land would be returned to agriculture after four decades.
Mr Beirne, a young local campaigner in the West Midlands and Solihull who has previously worked on the leadership campaigns of Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt, and currently serves as a Constituency Assistant to a Member of Parliament, says he supports renewable energy, but “not at the expense of irreplaceable countryside.”
“This is inappropriate development in the green belt,” he told the Solihull Observer. “Once farmland is industrialised, it rarely returns to its original state. We must protect our countryside and prioritise solar on rooftops, brownfield, and industrial sites instead.”
He also spoke passionately about the beauty of the local area:
“Catherine De Barnes is one of the most beautiful stretches of countryside in the West Midlands — rolling fields, wildlife, and a landscape loved by generations. We must protect it with all our might, because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”
Vic Applegate, West Midlands Regional Director of the Great British PAC, was even more direct:
“Calling this ‘grey belt’ is a cynical rebrand to bulldoze planning rules. You don’t save the planet by destroying the countryside. This is nothing more than an industrial land grab dressed up as green policy, and if we let it pass, no green belt will be safe in the West Midlands.”
The key concerns raised by opponents include:
- Loss of Green Belt: Setting a dangerous precedent for more development.
- Questionable restoration promise: No proven examples of agricultural return after 40 years.
- Visual and local impact: Risk to property values, public enjoyment of the area, and landscape character.
- Security risks: Reports of some imported panels containing “kill switches”.
- Weather vulnerability: Previous UK solar farms have been damaged by storms.
Residents have until 26 August 2025 to submit their views to Solihull Council.
How to object:
- Visit the Solihull Planning Portal.
- Search for application PL/2025/01404/PPFL
- Submit a comment stating your opposition and reasons. Include your postcode if you can.
- Written objections can also be emailed to [email protected], quoting the application number (PL/2025/01404/PPFL) in the subject line.
“This isn’t about being anti-green energy,” Mr Beirne added. “It’s about choosing the right locations and protecting Solihull’s rural heritage for the next generation.”
The proposal for the solar farm. Credit: Total Energies, RSK ADAS, Solihull Council
Written objections can also be emailed to [email protected], quoting the application number (PL/2025/01404/PPFL) in the subject line.
The developers – Total Energies – have been contacted and we are awaiting their reply.
