The rejection of a proposed solar farm in the Severn Vale by Stroud District Council sparked applause from villagers who fear the area is being treated as a development “dumping ground.”
PACE Tribute Energy Ltd had planned a 49.5 megawatt photovoltaic array spanning roughly 120 acres near Epney, just 400 yards from the River Severn. The site, close to the junction of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and Stroudwater Navigation at Saul, would have featured south-facing solar panels up to 9.8 feet tall, along with an inverter array, substation, and grid connection compound.
The proposal faced strong opposition from multiple parish councils—including Fretherne with Saul, Longney and Epney, Frampton-on-Severn, and Arlingham—as well as the county highways department, the South Cotswold Ramblers, and over 200 local residents.
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On December 3, district council officers recommended refusing the application due to concerns that the grid connection facilities would create an “alien, overbearing and unsympathetic” impact on the grazing marshland landscape of Severn Vale. Officers also criticized the lack of adequate information regarding biodiversity benefits, effects on protected habitats, and safety measures for construction traffic interacting with road users.
Conservative Councillor Robert Brown, representing Severn at Ebley Mill, highlighted the site’s detrimental visual impact on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal—a heritage asset benefiting from decades of restoration and public investment. He underscored that the area near Saul junction serves as a key visitor gateway to the Cotswold Canals and the wider district, emphasizing that the local roads could not support additional construction traffic.
Fretherne with Saul Parish Councillor Andrew Brown voiced the overwhelming local opposition, noting that 99 percent of residents in a recent poll opposed the development. While supportive of renewable energy, he stressed the importance of avoiding industrial-scale projects in ecologically sensitive areas that provide habitat to skylarks, curlews, otters, badgers, and several bat species.
Roger Godwin of Longney and Epney Parish Council echoed these sentiments, saying the Severn Vale has unfairly become Gloucestershire’s “dumping ground” for industrial and green energy developments, disproportionately affecting small rural communities.
Landowner Tricia Griffiths, whose family has farmed the area for four generations, explained that introducing solar panels on 100 acres would secure a stable income to sustain the family beef rearing business and allow diversification into sheep grazing beneath the panels. However, these plans could not overcome the broader community and environmental objections.
PACE planning manager Callum Wright acknowledged procedural issues but maintained that the visual impact of the grid mast was manageable. He noted they submitted additional plans addressing riparian buffers and ecological surveys, and expressed willingness to conduct a highways safety study.
During the committee debate, concerns about siting the substation on a floodplain and the cumulative impact of multiple solar developments were raised. Councillors highlighted parallels with the incremental approval of intensive chicken farms in the River Wye catchment, which collectively strained the environment.
In a unanimous vote aligning with officer advice, the council rejected the application, reflecting strong community and environmental concerns about large-scale solar development in the Severn Vale.