PLASNS to build a solar farm which will see over 35,000 panels installed in Overton have been approved by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

As previously reported by The Gazette, Big60Million Limited - the company behind the proposals - held a public consultation earlier this year on plans to build a 6.2-hectare 3.4 megawatt-peak solar farm at land adjoining Lordsfield Plantation.

It is thought the solar farm, which will house 36,300 solar panels, will generate enough power to provide electricity for 1,026 homes per year.

The borough council's development control committee voted to approve the application at a meeting this month despite opposition from Overton Parish Council.

Overton Parish Councillor, Lucy Sloane Williams, branded the application as a “gross insensitivity”, telling the meeting: “At night time, it is an area you can go to see the lovely star showers that we have seen recently.

“In the day time, the site is adjacent to a popular country walk enjoyed by both locals and tourists as they head towards the area of outstanding natural beauty.”

Borough councillor for Overton, Laverstoke and Steventon, Ian Tilbury, added: “Why are we covering agricultural land when there are hundreds of roofs as numerous people have already said? This is very good agricultural land which is in short supply. It is hard to support the application on this site here.”

Mike Rogers and Jolyon Orchard spoke in favour of the application on behalf of Big60Million, telling the meeting that the company had agreed to plant trees and hedges around the site to minimise the visual impact to two nearby houses.

They added: “We were not able to identify any other suitable sites which were as visually contained as the proposed site and it met our other requirements.”

Baughurst and Tadley North councillor, Michael Bound, moved a motion calling for the application to be approved, telling the meeting: “Whenever these projects come forward, any kind of renewable ground energy source, it seems to me that there are always going to be local objections of some kind or another.

“Everybody in this country uses energy to a huge extent and it is not going to get any less. It is unfortunate but it is two houses we are talking about basically and if mitigation (to reduce the visual impact) can be put in place, I am very much in favour of it.”