Latest news with #MalvernHills
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Locals fear Britain's biggest solar farm will 'spoil views of the Malvern Hills' if plans for huge 271-acre development go ahead
Britain's biggest solar farm could spoil views of the Malvern Hills, protesters have claimed as they marched in an attempt to halt plans for the 271-acre development. Opponents to the proposals by RWE Renewables UK Solar & Storage Ltd near Powick in Worcestershire claim it will destroy the landscape and could pose a fire risk. The group from Preserve Powick Landscape and Nature (PPLAN) marched through parts of the proposed site yesterday having already erected signs around the area. They are worried that the solar farm will disrupt views of the Malvern Hills, cause harm to local wildlife and present a fire risk from batteries used to store energy. Powick resident Steve Lloyd, who lives across from the proposed entrance to the site, told how he was also concerned about increased traffic and noise in the area. He said: 'It's mainly the size of it. I'm a farmer - and it's so close to my house and my farm. I'm just thinking about what could go wrong. 'Apparently they can catch fire from the battery storage system. People are worried about the fire risk, and the wildlife. There's also the glare from it - and just the actual size of it. Traffic is also very much a concern - it's on a single track lane.' The site would be bigger than that current largest scheme in the UK, which is found at Shotwick Solar Park in Deeside, North Wales, which covers 250 acres. PPLAN leader Peter Loader, who lives adjacent to the proposed development, is concerned about fire risks and traffic disruptions which could last seven months. He said: 'The reason I've been coordinating these events that have taken place in opposition to the solar farm is primarily the impact on the landscape. 'There are a lot of people who won't be able to walk through that area - and the Malvern Hills is an area of outstanding natural beauty. 'Both the Malvern Hills Trust and the National Landscape people have objected because the view from the Malvern Hills would clearly be impacted by this site. 'The A449 has more than 20,000 vehicles a day going along it - and that is pretty much the capacity for a single carriageway A-road. 'Because they need to lay a cable from this side to the nearest substation, they're proposing putting roadworks up for seven months - and that's pretty serious.' Mr Loader said the construction would 'affect people's day to day lives' with taking children to school, but could also impact ambulances. He continued: 'Many residents are concerned about the fire risk - when they catch fire, they can't be put out. When that happens, there's a toxic vapour cloud that forms, and the fairly large housing estate is downwind.' Fellow campaigner and resident Andrea Trickett-Born told BBC News: 'I do think there is a better place for solar panels. 'It's on roofs, it's on public buildings, it's on schools, it's on warehouses, on car parks - anywhere else that's not just taking up available, usable farmland.' But Bente Klein, from RWE Renewables UK Solar & Storage Ltd, told the BBC that the site was near the National Grid and it was therefore the 'best and most suitable' location. She added that trees and hedges meant there would be no major effects on views. Malvern Hills District Council told the BBC it could not comment on the project during the planning process, but confirmed that the application was submitted in January.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
UK's biggest solar farm ‘will ruin views of the Malvern Hills'
Britain's biggest solar farm will ruin the views of the Malvern Hills if it gets planning permission, residents have warned. Opponents of plans for a 271-acre solar farm near Powick, Worcestershire, have said it will destroy the natural landscape and pose a fire risk to people living nearby. Preserve Powick Landscape and Nature (PPLAN), who have already erected signs around the area, marched from Hospital Lane in Powick through parts of the proposed site on Sunday. They are worried the solar farm will disrupt views of the Malvern Hills, cause harm to local wildlife, and pose fire risks from batteries used to store energy. Peter Loader, the leader of PPLAN who lives adjacent to the site, has described his concerns over the proposed development, including fire risks and traffic disruptions expected to last at least seven months. He said the reason he had been co-ordinating the events in opposition to the solar farm 'is primarily the impact on the landscape'. 'There are a lot of people who won't be able to walk through that area – and the Malvern Hills is an area of outstanding natural beauty,' Mr Loader said. 'Both the Malvern Hills Trust and the National Landscape people have objected because the view from the Malvern Hills would clearly be impacted by this site. 'The A449 has more than 20,000 vehicles a day going along it – and that is pretty much the capacity for a single carriageway A-road. Because they need to lay a cable from this side to the nearest substation, they're proposing putting roadworks up for seven months – and that's pretty serious. 'Not only will it affect people's day-to-day lives, with taking children to school, it will also affect ambulances. Many residents are concerned about the fire risk – when they catch fire, they can't be put out. 'When that happens, there's a toxic vapour cloud that forms, and the fairly large housing estate is downwind.' Steve Lloyd, who lives across from the proposed entrance to the solar farm, said he was worried about increased traffic and noise in the area, as well as the potential fire hazards. He said his greatest concern was 'mainly the size of it'. 'I'm a farmer, and it's so close to my house and my farm. I'm just thinking about what could go wrong. Apparently they can catch fire from the battery storage system,' Mr Lloyd said. 'People are worried about the fire risk and the wildlife. There's also the glare from it, and just the actual size of it. Traffic is also very much a concern – it's on a single-track lane.' RWE Renewables UK Solar & Storage Ltd, which is behind the plans, told the BBC that the site was close to the National Grid, making it 'the best and most suitable' location for the project.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb returns for 120th anniversary
Motorsport is returning to Worcestershire with the 120th annual Hill Climb at Shelsley Walsh - described by an organiser as "Formula 1 up a country lane".The track in the Malvern Hills opened in 1905 and has seen many champions from the sport take on the steep record when it was first staged was 77.6 seconds for the 1,000-yard (914m) run but, 120 years later, it stands at 22.37 Toby Moody said: "There's a lot going on in under half a minute when the car is hitting 150mph twice within that period of time. It is Formula 1 up a country lane. It's that mad." Practice and competition events are being held on the track on Saturday and whether this weekend's event would set a new record, Mr Moody responded: "Absolutely, by the record holding driver, Sean Gould, in a 410kg single-seater kind of smaller-scale Formula 1 car that's got 730 or 740 horsepower, with a big V8 (internal combustion engine) at the back." Mr Moody said the first meeting at the track was on 12 August 1905."The first car didn't even make it up the hill because it's so steep here," he said."It is one in six in places but it was a way for the motor manufacturers in those early times to prove that their cars could even climb a hill, so what better way to do it than have a competition." He claimed the track was the oldest motorsport venue still operating in the world."All the great and the good of motorsport have been here, particularly before the war," he Moody said it was a "huge" event."The first meeting after the war, there were still people queuing to get in at half past four in the afternoon and we had to delay the meeting," he said,"It finished at half past seven in the evening because the country had been bereft of motorsport."We're still going today, so it's juxtaposition of having the modernism of the modern cars against the old backdrop of Worcestershire is fantastic." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The underrated region of the Midlands that inspired Tolkien
The scene from my window at Great Malvern's Mount Pleasant Hotel is achingly English. Looking toward the Severn Valley, I watch the afternoon sun flare across languid green fields, while in the foreground a medieval parish church stands proudly as dense grey rain clouds hover ominously nearby. The 17th-century diarist John Evelyn called the view from the 1,394ft-high summit of the Malvern Hills 'one of the godliest vistas in England', and it's hard to argue. Often mist-strewn, and straddling the counties of Worcestershire and Herefordshire (plus a fragment of northern Gloucestershire), the hills are an eight-mile-long ridge running north to south with the hillside town of Great Malvern acting as its quaint and curious epicentre. The Victorians flocked to this corner of the Midlands in their droves, convinced the newfangled 'water cure' would solve all their problems. Or they'd get a rare hot bath out of it, at any rate. Charles Dickens loved visiting this salubrious spot, and 100 years later, during the 1950s, another British literary titan was just as enamoured. Though for JRR Tolkien, it was the landscape that profoundly affected him and he loved taking walks in the Malvern Hills. Seventy years ago, in 1955, Tolkien published The Return of the King, the last of his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, and he may well have been inspired by the Malvern Hills when describing some of the book's most notable locations. Like all good authors, Tolkien never discussed his inspirations, leaving that up to his readers, but there are certainly some clues. 'The Severn runs north to south and that's why the hills stick out so much,' says my guide for the day, Dan Johnson. 'Towards Wales, there's the Black Mountains in the distance. And it's very similar to The Lord of the Rings when they're heading to Mordor.' Johnson once worked as a BBC sports journalist, but these days is an outdoor enthusiast, having given up the office to juggle various gigs in the elements, including working as a lifeguard. Clad today in sturdy caramel walking boots, navy shorts and a black Lord of the Rings T-shirt, his Tolkien enthusiasm is perfect for our walk in the author's footsteps. For the uninitiated, Great Malvern's Church Street is on a serious gradient and we've barely reached the lofty Belle Vue Terrace before my thighs start feeling the strain. Mercifully, there's a Victorian drinking spout pouring pure Malvern spring water piped directly from three springs above the town, Happy Valley, Rushey Valley and Ivy Scar Rock. Refreshed, we stroll north along balcony-like Belle Vue Terrace and past the Unicorn pub. Dating back to the 16th century, it's probably the oldest building in Great Malvern and was once used as a staging post between nearby Ledbury and Worcester. Tolkien loved walking with his great friend and fellow novelist CS Lewis, and this timber-framed haunt was their favourite spot for a post-walk pint. 'They were quite fussy about their pubs – Tolkien in particular,' explains Johnson. 'He hated technology and he hated radios. This was back in the Fifties. So apparently, if they went into a pub with the radio playing, he'd turn around and walk out. They decided the pub they liked the best was the Unicorn, as it was quite old-fashioned and served beer in proper glasses.' Unfortunately, I doubt Tolkien would enjoy the place in its current form. My visit the previous evening was soundtracked by the incessant bleeps and bloops of a gambling machine near the bar, while late-1980s Stock, Aitken and Waterman synth pop videos blared from the TV screen. Though it does have a crackling fire, a hallmark of any self-respecting rural pub. Continuing on, we take a serpentine route on this crisp and sunny spring morning through the hillside suburbia of Link Top before looping around past the former homes of composer Edward Elgar and local headteacher George Sayer, a great friend of Tolkien's with whom he would stay when visiting the town to walk the hills. With Lewis, the three of them formed something of a walking power trio, though in very different styles. 'Lewis liked to walk fast and build up a sweat, stomp on and push ahead,' says Johnson, as we walk through a thicket of tangled woodland up into the hills proper. 'Tolkien was completely different. He liked to walk slowly and stop and point at everything, 'What's that plant? What's that tree?' He liked to ponder, but also talk a lot. He didn't like to walk and talk at the same time. He'd always stop to make his point and throw his arms about and gesticulate, which drove Lewis mad.' I always imagined novelists as the genteel type (with occasional exceptions, like Ernest Hemingway and Hunter S Thompson), insular and averse to any sort of physical exercise, but Johnson's colourful descriptions of Tolkien and Lewis make me reconsider. We power on past craggy cliff faces as buzzards hang in the air above, before coming to a high opening where Worcestershire fans out in front of us and the houses we walked by an hour ago now resemble distant Monopoly pieces. As we circle around the track to the 1,302ft summit of North Hill, Great Malvern looks particularly handsome from above. 'The idea that The Shire, where the hobbits are from, is a nice, safe little place, is a bit like Malvern,' says Johnson as we put our bags down to admire the view. 'Obviously other places claim they're what The Shire was based on. But it's certainly based around a small English rural town.' After descending the 99 steps back down to the street level, there are plenty more reasons to stick around. Located down a narrow side street, the superb Carnival Records was named – to the surprise of almost everyone here – one of the best vinyl record shops in the world earlier this year. Heavy on the melted Montgomery cheddar, Belle Vue's Faun plates up one of the finest cheese toasties I've ever had, while back on Church Street Weavers of Malvern pour a smorgasbord of local real and craft ales. And for perhaps the most visceral experience of the hills, the nearby Morgan Motor Company offers the opportunity to take a windswept solo drive around the Malverns in one of their iconic hand-built sports cars. But whether Tolkien took his inspiration from here or not, this tremendously underrated corner of England should be seen in person, and not simply read about. How to do it Direct return trains from London Paddington to Great Malvern start from £63 with Great Western Rail. Double rooms at the Mount Pleasant Hotel cost from £250 per night in season, and £112 out of season. James March was a guest of Visit the Malverns.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Powick campaigners battle huge solar farm plans near village
Campaigners fighting plans for a 271-acre (109.7-hectare) solar farm near a village argue it would harm landscapes and Preserving Powick Land and Nature (PPLAN) group said the scheme, on land either side of the A449 near Powick, would disrupt views of Worcestershire's Malvern Hills, put a strain on roads and pose fire risks from batteries used for energy Klein, from the energy firm behind the plans, RWE Renewables UK Solar & Storage Ltd, said the proposed site was near the National Grid network and trees and hedges meant there would be no major effects on views.A Malvern Hills District Council spokeswoman said they could not comment during the planning process. Campaigner Peter Loader said: "The sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow."He said the plans meant "massive" battery storage was needed which he claimed was a fire fellow campaigner and resident Andrea Trickett-Born said the solar farm would be visible from Powick and the Malvern that food security was a national issue, she said: "I do think there is a better place for solar panels and it's on roofs, it's on public buildings, it's on schools, it's on warehouses, on car parks - anywhere else that's not just taking up available, usable farmland." However Ms Klein, from RWE, said the biggest risk to food security was climate change, adding: "If we're not actually tackling climate change, then food security will be even more difficult."She said the scheme needed to be as close to the National Grid network as possible and the site was "the best and most suitable" for the project. The council spokeswoman said the application for a solar farm and battery energy storage system at Monksfield Farm, Monksfield Lane, Newland, was submitted in said the authority recognised the role of renewable energy in supporting sustainability and national energy must be balanced against issues such as the landscape, heritage, agriculture, biodiversity, access and the views of the local community, she added. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
