Planning permission has been given for a solar farm the size of more than 100 football pitches to be built on fields in Leicestershire.
Blaby District Council has granted Soars Solar Ltd permission for the green energy scheme on 201 acres (81 hectares) of land at Soars Lodge Farm in Foston, near Countesthorpe.
The planned blot on the landscape will be mounted on a metal framework that would be easily removable when it comes to decommissioning.
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BBC reports: There were 34 objections to the scheme, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, including concerns about disruption to views and the complex being out of character with the rural area.
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The developers said the solar farm would generate 49.8MW, which would power about 12,000 homes per year over 40 years.
Further objections included fears about a decrease in the value of houses, negative impact to mental health and wellbeing of people living nearby, impacts the solar farm would have on walking routes and an increase in noise pollution.
Speaking at the meeting at which the project was approved, Countesthorpe ward councillor Adrian Clifford said: “Size and visual impact of what is currently proposed represents a travesty for Countesthorpe and those who live, value and enjoy the rural setting and visual amenity of the surrounding countryside location.”
The councillor said he had spoken to the firm to try to secure a site which would cause less “visual harm” to the area but had been told solar panels could not be made to “look pretty.
