Plans to build a 49.9-megawatt solar farm that ‘will look like a prison compound’ near Whitminster have been approved.
JBM Solar Projects 7 Ltd has been granted permission by Stroud District Council to build, operate and maintain the solar farm which could power up to 15,000 homes.
The solar farm will cover 286.6 acres of fields split into two parcels of land, one near Moreton Valence and the other northwest of Whitminster.
The solar panels will measure 9.84 ft tall and will be set in straight arrays. And these will be set on a tracking system which means that the panels angle throughout the day to face the sun.
Some 68 people wrote in support of the scheme while 47 opposed the proposals and local parish councils raised several concerns over the proposals.
Ward councillors John Jones (C, Severn) and Stephen Davies (C, Severn) spoke against the scheme which they believe will desecrate the countryside.
They told the planning committee on March 29 that they recognise the need for alternative sources of electricity but covering hundreds of acres of good agricultural land was not the way forward.
Cllr Jones said: “Food production lost by allowing the application to go ahead will have to be made up elsewhere. Possibly abroad and imported back into this country which is not good for British farmers and certainly not for carbon footprints.”
He also said solar panels should be put on rooftops or brownfield land and not cover vast swathes of countryside.
Cllr David Paynter, of Whitminster Parish Council, said they object to the solar farm over its size and location which they see as too large for the village.
“The solar farm will cover nearly 15% of our green space. The solar farm will directly affect our public rights of way.
“Who wants to walk through the middle of a field covered in solar panels? It would be like walking through a prison compound with its high fences and CCTV cameras.”
Adam Withers, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the scheme was a bold response to climate change and would help the district council’s environmental efforts.
He said the solar farm would lead to the equivalent displacement of 20,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and provide energy for more than 15,000 homes.
He said: “We believe the officer’s report demonstrates the designs put forward are technically sound and sympathetic to their surroundings.
“People want clean energy, they want cheap energy and they want secure energy. This scheme ticks all of those boxes.”
Council officers recommended approving the scheme subject to conditions and the planning committee voted to approve the proposals by six votes to one.
The committee also included a condition that forbids deliveries to the Whitminster site on Saturdays.
