Plans rejected to stop county becoming 'Solarshire'

Planning permission for a solar farm bigger than 130 football pitches has been refused due to fears Gloucestershire would become "Solarshire".

Forest of Dean District Council has rejected Elgin Energy's application to install solar panels on 162 acres of land at Moat Farm in Kent's Green, near Newent.

The council's development management committee heard the site would create a corridor of one million solar panels between Newent and Gloucester, due to other already approved solar farms.

Elgin Energy said its proposals were in line with planning and renewable energy policies, which were created after a climate emergency was declared.

Newent councillor Gill Moseley said the development management committee must not overlook the impact of an approved solar farm which covers 28 fields nearby, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

"The cumulative impact of that would almost make us into 'Solarshire, not Gloucestershire'," she said.

Hartpury, Rudford and Highleadon parish councils said if the application was approved, it would mean at least 700 acres of farmland would be dedicated to solar farms within a five to 10-mile (eight to 16km) radius.

The councils added that each of the three solar farms proposed in the Newent area would be among the largest five in England.

Newent Town Council raised concerns about overdevelopment, overshadowing of properties, road safety, and the installation of solar panels on land successfully used to grow crops for more than 25 years.

The committee voted to reject the proposals by eight votes to one with one abstention.

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