BREAKING NEWS
We’re delighted to share some significant news with our supporters. On 11 February 2026, the developer officially withdrew the planning application for the proposed 287‑acre solar and battery installation near Roundhill Wood in rural Worcestershire — the cherished landscape many of us know as The Shire.
For nearly seven years, our community has had to contend with a proposal that was fundamentally unsuitable for this unique countryside. Its withdrawal marks a clear win for local residents who have consistently and constructively challenged the scheme. Their persistence, scrutiny, and dedication have been extraordinary.
We would also like to acknowledge the invaluable efforts of Wychavon District Council and the four parish councils, whose careful examination and steadfast approach helped ensure that every aspect of the application received the rigorous assessment it required.
Thanks to this collective effort, the distinct character and environmental value of The Shire will continue to be protected for the long term — a result our community can be proud of.
THE CAMPAIGN TO SAVE
TOLKIEN’S LANDSCAPE
ural England has served as the inspiration for the greatest works of literature and poetry for hundreds of years.
The Lake District, Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth.
The Yorkshire Moors and the Brontë sisters.
The Worcestershire landscape that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
But some of these literary landscapes are increasingly under threat.
Winnie the Pooh’s 100 Acre wood was threatened with housing development.
Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest was under threat from fracking.
And now the home of the Hobbits is the latest one at risk of being lost forever.
Untouched for hundreds of years, the view from the real-life Bag End farmhouse – the home of Bilbo Baggins and where Tolkien took his inspiration – faces being replaced by a huge industrial solar power station.
If the proposal is approved, the ancient trees and rolling landscapes that inspired ‘The Shire’ will be covered with hundreds of acres of solar panels, high security fencing and CCTV.
Not only will the landscape be lost – food producing farmland will be too.
Important literary landscapes are not sufficiently protected under current planning rules, leaving them vulnerable to industrialisation like this.
Time is running out to Save the Shire.
We urgently need new and consolidated protections, because once these landscapes are gone, we can’t get them back.
If you agree, tell your MP to change the rules today.
WHY LITERARY LANDSCAPES
SHOULD BE PROTECTED
CULTURAL HERITAGE
LOCAL ECONOMY
BIODIVERSITY
IDENTITY
