TV celebrities have joined forces to object to a huge solar farm project on the Herefordshire border with Shropshire.

Impressionist Alistair McGowan, from Ludlow, and actor Tim Wallers, from Tenbury Wells, have raised concerns over the planning application to build a solar farm over 54 hectares of agricultural land at Brick House Farm in the hamlet of Greete, near to the Herefordshire border, between Ludlow and Tenbury.

Mr McGowan is best known for his hit BBC One show The Big Impression and Mr Wallers has starred in The Windsors on Channel Four alongside Harry Enfield.

Bluefield Renewables Development has applied for planning permission from Shropshire Council, with documents saying the solar farm would have an approximate capacity of 49.9 MW.

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It said the proposed development would create enough renewable energy to meet the annual electricity needs of approximately 15,000 homes.

It would also offset approximately 11,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, which adds up to the equivalent of taking around 5,160 cars off the road.

Mr McGowan has called for the rural land to be kept for farming.

He said: "I am a passionate environmentalist and have campaigned for many years for an increase in solar energy production in the UK.

"But I always thought the best way to protect the environment and our beautiful, disappearing countryside was to put solar panels on top of buildings and not on farmland.

"Developments such as this are totally out of keeping with this wonderfully rural setting.

"They will ruin the area’s character for ever and cause huge disruption in the construction phase."

Mr Wallers said that nobody is against renewable energy, but that this plan is the "right idea in the wrong place."

He said: "Tenant farmers are worried about being thrown off their land as the countryside becomes industrialised, at a time we desperately need them to produce as much crop growth as possible, with imports so badly impacted since the conflict in Ukraine.

Speaking at an Environmental Audit Committee meeting on Wednesday June 29, George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was questioned about the use of land for solar power in light of the surge in the number of projects being developed.

He pointed to guidance issued together with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to local authorities in 2015, “created a strong presumption against solar farms on land that is classified in law as grade 3B or above" (the proposed land for development is grade 3B)

“We’re conscious that there have been quite a few big schemes in recent months or over the last 12 months, where planning authorities seem to have either forgotten or started to disregard that advice,” said Mr Eustice.

A campaign is underway to increase awareness of the plans and to encourage people to have their say.

People can find out more by emailing admin@greete.org

Bluefield Renewables Development, who are proposing the project, have given the reasons behind why they believe the project should be given the green light.

It said that the development will have significant biodiversity benefits, and that careful consideration has been given to the development to avoid adverse affects on the landscape and its heritage.

The company also said that it will assist Shropshire Council in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with national and local targets in response to the climate emergency.