Solar park will 'completely swamp' nine villages

People living in some of Britain's most picturesque villages have been divided by plans for a one of the biggest solar parks in the country.

Developers want to build solar panels on 2,000 acres of farmland near Malmesbury in the Cotswolds, producing enough energy for 115,000 homes.

Rosie Clark is one of hundreds of local campaigners who believes it will "decimate the local area".

But supporters of the scheme, including the former mayor of Malmesbury Lesley Bennett, accused opponents of being "well-connected people" whose leaflets are "full of mistakes".

The government wants to quadruple the amount of solar power generated in the UK. But wherever developers propose new solar farms, opposition springs up.

Rosie Clark lives in a stone cottage surrounded by Cotswold fields and hedgerows in Wiltshire.

She is worried there could be more than "a million panels which will be as high as a double-decker bus".

The developers have not confirmed exact numbers, but have said it would be 'no more than 700,000 panels'.

"It will completely swamp nine local villages," Ms Clark said.

"We are in an area of outstanding national beauty. It will decimate the local area, which relies a lot on tourism."

Meanwhile, Lesley Bennett is one of a few people who will speak up for the solar scheme.

"It's nimbyism, it's perfect nimbyism," she said.

"We need clean energy. We need to be energy independent."

The campaign to Stop Lime Down is well organised. Hundreds of people have been signed up, leaflets printed, there are signs everywhere in these north Wiltshire villages.

But Mrs Bennett thinks there are many silent solar supporters, who dare not speak up.

"It's a few well-connected rich people who've created a brilliant campaign," she says.

"But it's an illusion. This leaflet is full of mistakes."

Campaigners are well aware the odds are against them.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has already approved several big solar schemes, just as big as Lime Down.

Mr Miliband wants to quadruple the UK's solar power generation capacity, which he says will "make the UK a clean energy superpower".

Ms Clark said she is "all for wind and solar energy", just not on farmland.

"We should not be using agricultural land and destroying our future food security for solar panels," she said.

Mrs Bennett highlighted that only half of the 2,000 acres (878 hectares) proposed for development would have solar panels or related buildings on.

The developers, Island Green Power, have allocated 47% of the land for environmental purposes.

Mrs Bennett said that solar fields have always worked alongside nature.

She said: "You can have sheep on there, you can have wildlife on there, they put in beehives and ponds and all sorts."

The company's first public consultation ran into serious opposition. Their own report found that 88% of local people were opposed to their plans.

Now the developers, Island Green Power, said they have listened and learned.

Will Threllfall, senior project development manager, said he was 'really grateful' to everyone who responded.

The new proposals they are now consulting on include changes, he said, which will make the solar panels less visible and less intrusive.

But they remain committed to the basic plan, with 878 hectares ( 2170 acres) in the scheme, of which 53% is either solar panels or related infrastructure.

Mr Threlfall said: "Projects like Lime Down Solar are vital to enabling the transition from fossil fuel to low carbon energy, and we're committed to delivering a scheme that makes a meaningful contribution to both local and national energy needs."

The formal public consultation will run until 19 March 2025. After that, the company will submit a planning application which will in the end be decided by the Secretary of State. The scheme is considered too big to be judged by a local council alone.