Solar farm would have 'unacceptable visual impact'

A planned solar farm is "wholly out of character" and could deter people from visiting the area, Somerset Council has argued.

Plans were put forward in June 2024 to build a solar farm at Mahe Farm on Chard Lane in the small village of Wayford, between Chard and Crewkerne.

However, Greentech Invest LTD launched an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination - meaning the council took too long to make a decision.

The public inquiry to settle the matter got under way in Yeovil on 10 February, with opening arguments being presented to the Planning Inspectorate.

The solar farm will cover an area of 26 hectares (64 acres) - equaivalent to 36 football pitches – and will remain operational for 40 years.

It will produce enough renewable energy each year to power about 4,700 homes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Philip Robson KC, representing the council, said the solar farm would have an unacceptable visual impact on the local landscape, which could deter visitors to the area and damage locals' residential amenity.

Sinead Davies, representing Greentech, said the farm would play a small, but vital role in the government's push for secure green energy, and the land could not be easily used for productive farming.

She said: "The essential background to this appeal is the critical and worsening global climate crisis, and the scale of the challenge faced by national and local authorities in meeting targets to address it."

Davies also said the landscape impacts are not "substantial".

Two site visits will take place next week, with a final ruling in the early spring.

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