With its rolling fields, thatched Tudor cottages, village pub and a church listed in the Domesday Book, Salford Priors appears to embody the traditional English village.

Yet residents in the scenic Warwickshire community, along with people living near the Worcestershire border, are protesting against proposals for what could be among the largest solar farms in the UK.

Opponents argue that the development would replace productive arable farmland with a “crystal desert”, leaving nearby communities affected by glint and glare while damaging natural habitats.

The planned Arrow Valley Solar project would cover four square miles, with solar panels and battery energy storage systems spread across four areas in Warwickshire and Worcestershire. The zones would be linked by a network of underground cables.

Its proposed capacity means it qualifies as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). The development could produce up to 500 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply around 235,000 homes each year.

If planning permission is approved, the site is expected to be operational by 2031. It would extend across 4,353 acres — the equivalent of 2,468 full-size football pitches — and include tracker panels as large as double-decker buses, designed to follow the sun’s path.

Paul Wareing, 68, said the solar farm would take in parts of the Vale of Evesham, an area famed for its rich soil and its importance to fruit and asparagus production, destroying what he described as “quintessential English countryside”.

The semi-retired former government project manager said: “People are only just waking up to the scale of this thing. It will destroy our green and pleasant land.”

Mr Wareing, who lives with wife Joanna, 69, in Salford Priors – a former Warwickshire village of the year winner – said that a field designated as housing battery units to store excess energy was the site of a wildfire which threatened the village last month.

‘If there had been batteries in-situ then there would have been hell to pay’, he added.

‘This scheme will turn a beautiful area into a giant industrial estate.

‘The irony is that I live in a conservation area and if I wanted to put solar panels on my roof I wouldn’t be allowed. Instead schemes like this are allowed to blight the countryside around us.’

Much of the land for the scheme will be provided by the nearby 6,000-acre Ragley Estate – which was at the centre of a bitter High Court family trust dispute last year.

David Smith, a retired electricity board worker from Abbots Morton, accused Henry Seymour, the 9th Marquess of Hertford who inherited the £85m ancestral estate in 1991, of ‘destroying this corner of Warwickshire’.

Mr Smith, 68, said: ‘How will he be remembered after this?

‘Landowners like the marquess are custodians, it is only his house for his duration.

‘A sizable percentage of this scheme will be on the estate’s land, but not one square inch of it will be visible from Ragley Hall.’

Mr Smith said the new solar scheme will result in panels positioned just yards from his home. The land, currently used to grow oil seed rape, would flood because underground drainage pipes would be ‘smashed’ by the framework for the solar panels, he feared.

But the landowner, who said he had agreed to lease 200 acres for at least 30 years as part of the development, said farming was becoming ‘unviable.’

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‘If the scheme gets the go-ahead there will be sheep on here – it’s going to be built so they can graze’, the farmer, who declined to be named, said.

‘I’m losing money growing crops’.

NSIPs require a specific type of planning permission called ‘development consent’, with the final decision resting with the Secretary of State.

A public consultation into the project opens at the end of this month.

Land earmarked for the scheme spans at least 11 parishes, with other villages and hamlets affected including Broome, Cleeve Prior and the hamlet of Weethley, where a stunning vista behind St James’s church is set to be decimated by solar panels.

Dr Jane Cornwall, a psychologist and church warden at St James’s, runs a mindfulness group from the building for people with anxiety and depression.

She said: ‘People come here to enjoy the unadulterated view, to walk and enjoy the peaceful tranquillity. I’m very concerned and the company behind this scheme have done nothing to allay people’s fears.’

But a villager in Dunnington who was in favour of the scheme, and green energy in general, said: ‘The panels near here won’t be visible from the houses and will mainly be on estate land which isn’t used for much at the moment.’

Arrow Valley Solar is one of slew of super-sized solar parks to enter the planning system over the last year. Earlier this year, the government approved what was up until then the UK’s largest power-producing solar farm, following a planning inquiry.

The 800MW Springwell Solar Farm, between Lincoln and Sleaford, will cover 3,163 acres and power 180,000 homes.

A decision on a proposed 4,361-acre ‘Great North Road’ solar park, which could generate enough electricity for 400,000 homes, beside the A1 in Nottinghamshire is expected next month.

Jamie Gleeson, Project Development Manager for Arrow Valley Solar, said the development would be ‘sympathetic to the local area’s environment, character and history’.

He added: ‘The project is being developed to help meet growing demand for secure, home-grown renewable energy and will be shaped by a comprehensive programme of environmental and technical assessments, alongside feedback from local communities and stakeholders.’

‘We recognise that people have questions about what the proposals could mean for the local area and would encourage anyone interested in the project to take part in our forthcoming public consultation’. 

Ragley Estate said it understood some residents had concerns over the scheme, ‘for which Ragley is one of a number of landowners that are involved.’

It said that, ahead of the consultation, the ‘Arrow Valley Solar project team are best placed to respond to any queries or concerns’. 

Last November, the Earl of Yarmouth, William Seymour, was saddled with a £1.3m legal bill after losing a battle over the running of the estate.

The earl, then 31, had been involved in a spat with his parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, since 2018 when they objected to his wedding to former Goldman Sachs banker Kelsey Wells – now Lady Yarmouth.

The High Court was told that as the oldest son, the earl expected to be handed Ragley Hall, the 340-year-old family seat, when he turned 30.

But he was disinherited by his father after they fell out around the time of the earl’s marriage.

Welcome to Polished with Elise Wilson, the column where Daily Mail’s qualified makeup artist and hair stylist answers your questions, shares expert advice and puts emerging beauty and skincare trends to the test, so you don’t have to.

For years, the beauty industry seemed to follow one straightforward philosophy: if an area was sagging, hollow or showing signs of age, add filler.

Now, however, the trend appears to be shifting. The ultra-plumped, flawlessly perfected faces once synonymous with the red carpet are increasingly being replaced by looks that are softer, brighter and, perhaps most importantly, more human.

Enter ‘The Great Deflate’ — the growing move away from conspicuous volume and overfilled features towards cosmetic treatments that look subtle, natural and almost impossible to detect.

Few stars seem to represent this evolving beauty ideal quite as well as our queen, Nicole Kidman.

As she promotes Practical Magic, the actress has been impossible to overlook — and she looks absolutely incredible.

Her features look elegantly defined, her complexion has a radiant glow and, compared with photographs from only a few years ago, there is a clear change in the overall look of her face.

I would never speculate on precisely what Nicole has or has not had done, but her refreshed look neatly reflects the subtle, natural-looking cosmetic treatment trend now gaining momentum across Hollywood.

Australian TikTok star Anna Paul is another high-profile example of the changing mood, famously documenting her decision to dissolve her lip filler in 2024, eight years after her first injections because she wanted to recognise herself in the mirror again. 

Then we had The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice following in her footsteps, documenting herself having her lip filler dissolved on TikTok in November 2024, echoing the same sentiment to followers that she wanted a ‘more natural look’.

Before anyone accuses me of jumping on the anti-filler bandwagon, I have to confess that I’m certainly no stranger to the syringe myself. In fact, I’m a tad guilty of overdoing it too.

Although I’ve since let mine naturally wear off, it was only a few years ago that I realised I’d probably gone a little too far (read: way too far) with the filler in my cheeks and jawline. At the time, I thought I looked amazing, but when I look back at photographs now, the telltale puffiness is glaringly obvious.

The truth is, filler ‘blindness’ can happen to any of us, including myself unfortunately. But in our defence, when we look at our own faces every day, our eyes gradually adjust and what once seemed like a noticeable change just becomes our new normal.

It can then be all too tempting to keep chasing more and more (the addicting to cosmetic procedures is real), convinced the filler you had months ago has disappeared when, in reality, plenty may still be there. 

That’s why I believe the person holding the syringe is every bit as important as what’s inside it.

A good, experienced cosmetic practitioner should know when to say enough is enough rather than agreeing to whatever you ask for, particularly when it comes to repeatedly injecting foreign substances into our faces. 

What is the Great Deflate?

Nina Johah, cosmetic registered nurse and owner of The Jection Bar in Sydney’s Maroubra, said it’s not just something she’s noticed scrolling through celebrity photographs.

She told me she’s witnessed a dramatic increase in clients wanting old filler dissolved and completely removed over the past 18 months.

What was once an occasional request has become almost weekly, and on particularly busy days she can dissolve filler in three or four clients with the most common areas the lips and tear troughs.

‘Clients are wanting more refinement, not so much the big volume anymore,’ Nina said.

Many are choosing to effectively ‘reset’ their faces before moving towards subtler, regenerative-style treatments.

How to know if you’ve gone too far

The tricky thing about filler is that we can become accustomed to seeing ourselves with it.

Nina explained that clients sometimes believe their filler has disappeared when, in reality, it’s still there. But because their appearance has become their ‘new norm’, they continue adding more.

Nina looks for a loss of natural contour, unusually round or projected cheeks, heaviness around the mouth, a pronounced step beneath the eyes and, of course, the infamous ‘pillow face’.

Filler can also migrate beyond the area in which it was originally placed, while some filler-tissue complexes can hold fluid and contribute to chronic puffiness.

In some cases, too much volume around the cheeks and under-eyes can even make the eyes themselves appear smaller.

Looking back at my own photographs now, I can absolutely recognise some of those signs in myself.

Facial filler is not the enemy

Despite the negative press surrounding filler recently, Nina doesn’t believe it’s disappearing altogether. Instead, she says that when used conservatively and appropriately, it can still be an incredibly useful aesthetic tool.

‘Filler has a place. It’s always going to have a place,’ she said.

The problem, she believes, is that for years it became the default solution for almost everything.

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Now, rather than trying to ‘fill’ ageing away, Nina is seeing more clients focus on collagen stimulation, skin quality, texture and treatments designed to work with the body’s own regenerative processes.

Think collagen biostimulators, microneedling, medical-grade chemical peels and injectable skin boosters designed to improve glow, firmness and texture.

‘Improve the fabric instead of just adding stuffing,’ she joked, and I couldn’t agree more.

Dissolving filler isn’t a ‘magic eraser’

Nina stressed that, like any cosmetic injectable procedure, dissolving carries risks and needs to be performed carefully by an appropriately qualified practitioner.

Allergic reactions are possible, although Nina says they’re rare, and her clinic performs a patch test to assess sensitivity before treatment.

The enzyme used to dissolve filler, hyaluronidase, doesn’t distinguish between the hyaluronic acid filler you no longer want and your body’s naturally occurring hyaluronic acid.

This means people can experience temporary hollowing, flatness, asymmetry, changes in skin texture or laxity after dissolving.

Then there’s what Nina calls the ‘deflated balloon illusion’, whereby if filler has been repeatedly placed in an area for years, it can expand the surrounding tissue.

Removing that volume too quickly can sometimes leave the face appearing flatter or more aged than expected.

For long-standing filler, Nina prefers a staged approach rather than attempting to dissolve everything aggressively in one appointment.

‘We’re modifying the filler tissue complex. We’re not wiping the slate perfectly clean.’

A holistic approach to depuffing

For some faces, carefully placed filler may still be exactly the right treatment, but for others, the best option might be to stop adding volume altogether and concentrate on the quality of the skin instead.

I’ve written before about my love of lymphatic massage, particularly when I’m feeling puffy, and Nina is also a fan, provided you’re realistic about what it can achieve.

The lymphatic system helps move excess fluid through the body and relies partly on movement and external pressure. Massage, exercise and even deep breathing can therefore help encourage fluid movement, which can temporarily reduce puffiness.

But it won’t dissolve migrated filler, replace lost facial structure or reverse ageing, and instead Nina described it perfectly as ‘facial housekeeping, not a renovation’.

Hormones play a big part in preserving beauty

For women approaching their 40s and beyond, Nina believes aesthetic medicine needs to look at far more than what’s happening on the surface of the face.

Estrogen is closely associated with collagen and skin health, and as hormone levels fluctuate during perimenopause and menopause, women can begin noticing significant changes in their skin.

Suddenly, the treatment that worked beautifully a few years ago might not seem to deliver the same result.

Nina says that women experiencing these changes should consider discussing their overall hormonal health with their GP or qualified women’s health specialist rather than assuming another syringe or aesthetic procedure is automatically the answer.

She has observed differences in the skin quality and treatment responses of women going through hormonal changes, but decisions around hormone testing or hormone replacement therapy are medical ones and should always be discussed with an appropriate doctor.

Nina also believes cookie-cutter filler, aggressive full-face packages and the pursuit of identical proportions are all on their way out.

In their place is something much more excited personalised, with treatment plans designed to make you look refreshed rather than ‘done’.

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not reflect those of any brands, clinics or companies mentioned. This content is not sponsored or endorsed in any way. Cosmetic treatments and medical procedures carry potential risks and results vary between individuals. This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult an appropriately qualified medical professional before undergoing any cosmetic or medical treatment. 

A Republican running for statewide office in Texas is drawing criticism from within his own party after sharing a post condemned as racist.

Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, posted on X on Sunday morning an image of non-white University of Texas students celebrating the school’s upset win over Ohio State the previous night.

French said the image showed that Texas institutions had been “overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals.”

“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this, I didn’t believe it,” French wrote. “The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

Republicans across the Lone Star State quickly called on French to remove the post, while US Senator John Cornyn urged fellow party members to publicly denounce it.

Cornyn said French’s language put the GOP’s future at risk.

“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance or racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized,” wrote Cornyn, whose 23-year Senate career is set to end after he lost the primary to Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“This is how great political parties self-destruct,” he continued, calling the situation “sad.”

Jared Patterson, a state representative from Austin, also declared that the post is ‘racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation.

‘There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin and declaring that they are a “problem,”‘ he wrote, arguing: ‘These are 20-year-old kids cheering for their university – not political props and not targets for racial attacks.’

Patterson then went on to note that the Texas Railroad Commission only regulates the state’s oil and gas industry and does not set federal immigration policy.

‘Texans deserve Railroad Commissioners focused on the responsibilities of that office – not using a statewide campaign as a platform for racial division.

‘This does not represent my Christian faith. It does not represent my conservative principles. And it does not represent the Republican Party I believe in,’ he continued.

‘We should be willing to call racism wrong no matter who says it, what party they belong to or how politically inconvenient it may be,’ Patterson concluded. ‘This is wrong and I want no part of it.’ 

Many others called on French to delete the post.

‘You can oppose immigration policy without demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity – this post has crossed the line. Delete it,’ urged Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows.

Republican Representatives Lacey Hull, of Houston, and Jeff Leach, of Plano, both of whom are allies of Burrows, also called on French to remove the post.

‘Please delete this,’ Hull wrote. ‘This post breaks my heart.

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‘I see college kids cheering on their football teams. I see Texans,’ she shared.

Leach, meanwhile, shared a photo of his own son with friends at the game.

‘This is my son Brady at the @TexasFootball game with his pledge class,’ he posted. ‘Bo thinks it’s a “problem” they don’t all look like and have the same color as Brady.

‘I think that’s racist – and it makes me sick.’ 

French’s Democratic opponent, State Representative Jon Rosenthal, also condemned the post.

‘I spent 25 years as an oil and gas engineer. Bo French spent Sunday morning sorting our student section by skin color.

‘Greg Abbott said Bo French would “wreck” our oil and gas industry,’ he noted.

‘A man who can’t tell a Longhorn from a foreigner has no business regulating anything in TX.’

In a separate post, Rosenthal thanked Cornyn for ‘having the decency to call out this racist rhetoric.

‘It’s truly unfortunate that so many elected “leaders” will just silently let this pass,’ he wrote.

Yet French has only doubled down on his racist post, arguing that Cornyn and other ‘RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) are anti-American.

‘Our state’s institutions have been overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals because of RINOs like John Cornyn who have cheered for them over our own citizens. He and the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First.’

But French, the former Tarrant County GOP chair, has faced backlash in the past over other controversial statements – including calling for the deportation of 100 million Americans.

He has built his campaign on anti-Islamic comments, vowing to ‘stop the Islamic invasion of Texas’ and ‘end DEI’s stranglehold on Texas oil.’

French’s campaign website also notes that he ‘is a proven conservative fighter who has stood up to the Chinese Communist Party and radical Islam.’

As of July, the Republican had a three-point lead over Rosenthal, according to a survey of likely voters by The Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research Center at Texas Southern University.

It showed that 44 percent of respondents said they intended to vote for French, while 41 percent expressed support for Rosenthal.

At the same time, however, 11 percent of self-identified Republicans said they were unsure of which candidate to pick, as were 10 percent of self-identified Democratic respondents.

Forty-three percent of self-identified independent respondents also marked themselves as unsure of both candidates. 

Dear Jane,

When my roommate began seeing her boyfriend, I had my doubts.

She admitted he had a reputation as a party animal before they got together, although she repeatedly assured me that phase of his life was over.

Following his latest behavior, though, I am far from convinced.

During the week, he appears perfectly ordinary. The problem emerges at weekends, especially once the night gets late.

We often go out for drinks, and after he has had a few, he becomes noticeably more unruly than everyone else. He climbs onto tables to dance, breaks bottles and makes vulgar jokes. Yet it is his conduct after we return home that leaves me most uneasy.

A few weeks ago, I walked into the kitchen and found him extremely drunk and completely naked.

And yes, I saw everything.

I was shocked, but initially dismissed it as an isolated drunken incident.

But it has continued. For several weeks, after nights out drinking, I have entered the kitchen, living room and even the bathroom to find him partly or fully undressed.

I’ve tried to gently tell him that I’d prefer if he kept clothes on around the house, but he hasn’t listened.

Now, I feel like my only choice is to tell my friend how weird and inappropriate he’s being. I just worry it will either ruin her happiness or our friendship.

Sincerely,

Party Foul

Dear Party Foul,

One of the hardest things in the world is when your closest friends end up with partners that you would not have chosen. 

And much of the time, even if we try and keep our feelings to ourselves, it either changes that friendship or ends it.

Nine times out of ten, someone in the first flush of love is going to choose their partner over their friend.

You’re not quite there yet, but it sounds like you have been clear with him. 

Unfortunately, however clear your boundary may be about not getting naked in the house, alcohol has a tendency to get in the way. In fact, it sounds less like he has a nudity problem and more that he may have an alcohol problem.

I do think, given that he has ignored your request, that it’s time to raise it with your friend. Tell her that when you find him repeatedly naked in the house it makes you uncomfortable, that you have asked him to stop and he has not done so.

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You can’t control whether it ruins her happiness or not, nor how it will affect your friendship.

Perhaps you end up moving out, protecting your friendship in the process. Perhaps he will listen to her, if not to you. There are many ways for this to be solved, but you can’t do any of it by yourself.

Dear Jane,

My girlfriend and I have always split everything equitably – whether that be groceries, rent or electric bills.

I’ve always earned more, so I’ve paid more. But recently, my girlfriend got a huge promotion and massive pay raise.

I was happy for her – she’s worked so hard for so long and it is well deserved. But when I saw how much her new income would be, I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant she would be sharing more of the financial burden.

With her new salary, she’s actually making more than me. And while I’m certainly not struggling to make ends meet, it would be nice to not have to contribute as much as I do now.

A few days after she started in her new role, I casually made a comment about her pay increase and joked about how I’m making less than her now, hoping that she would get the hint and offer to make our contributions more equitable.

She didn’t. Instead, she laughed it off.

I don’t know how to bring it up again. I’m uncomfortable talking about finances as is, and I don’t want to burst her bubble.

Sincerely,

Money Talks

Dear Money Talks,

Congratulations to your girlfriend. I know that talking about finances is one of the most difficult things that couples can face and I applaud you for your first attempt.

But now it’s time to have a more difficult talk.

The conversation has to take place in a calm atmosphere – perhaps over dinner somewhere. 

Start by telling her how proud you are of her promotion, how much she deserves it. Then, set the jokes aside. 

We often try and make light of things that we feel uncomfortable discussing, but adding levity reduces the seriousness of the discussion. 

Instead, tell her that given how much more she is now earning, you would like to look at making the bills more equitable.

Explain that this system was always based on the difference in your salaries, so it’s natural to adjust those percentages now that the balance has flipped.

How she reacts and how the two of you navigate to find a solution is a great indicator of how you will manage difficult conversations if and when you do get married.