On Tuesday 19 February Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council Planning Committee met to consider, amongst other items, the application to build 7,800 solar panels on land next to the village recreation ground.
There was a packed public gallery and the atmosphere was tense. Many villagers came to protest against the proposal and held posters and flyers to make their views clear. The arguments against the proposal were set out by Bernard Lamb in a concise and eloquent presentation. A representative from Freetricity then put the case for the development.After much debate, one councillor suggested that they reject the planning application. This was put to a vote which split the Planning Committee. A further question was put to the Committee – to support the Planning Officer’s recommendation to agree the application.
Unfortunately, Cllr. Reg Ward, Chair of Stoke Golding Parish Council, decided not to oppose the application.
Cllr. Ward had already been quoted on the proposal: “The action group have put together a comprehensive case with valid reasons against this proposal and we have to hope this will be taken into account when the decision is made next week”. But, when it came to the vote, he did not oppose the plan. This extraordinary u-turn caused an uproar in the gallery as villagers left shouting “Shame on you, Reg”.
The planning application went through.
The Stoke Golding Concerned Residents Action Group is considering its options.
