Huge solar farm approved despite objections

Plans to build a huge solar farm which will contain more than 80,000 panels have been approved by West Lothian Council, despite objections from neighbours.

The farm will cover about 150 acres of open farmland near the rural village of Threemiletown and will be operational for 35 years.

Councillors in support of the plans said renewable energy was vital to help tackle the climate crisis.

However, neighbours and some councillors raised objections, saying it would negatively impact local homes and agriculture.

Alongside the panels, the solar farm will also have supporting infrastructure such as a substation, a control building, security fencing and CCTV.

It is expected to take six months to build.

A report by the council's head of planning, economic development and regeneration said it would result in "a substantial and significant change in the visual landscape".

However, planning officers stressed that mitigation measures had been included in the design, including hedgerows and other planting.

The planning committee vote was split 3/3, with the chair's casting vote granting permission.

Councillors Willie Boyle, Damian Doran-Timson and Tom Conn led the objections.

Mr Boyle said: "I have real issues with the scale.

"I have issues with prime agricultural land that will be out of use for 35 years."

Councillor Pauline Stafford, who voted in support, acknowledged there would be an impact but said: "If we don't increase the pace of renewables what is the landscape of West Lothian going to look like in 35 years?"

She added that the overriding factor for her was "tackling the climate crisis and nature crisis".

There were 77 objections to the proposal.

Jenny Mcdonagh, who lives in Canal Court which will overlook the solar farm, said she is "gutted" by the plans.

She told the committee: "This is an industrial estate just metres from my home.

"It sets a terrible precedent for rural villages - that they don't matter, it's only a few houses."

Mrs Mcdonagh also criticised the consultation process.

She claimed that it was not widely advertised and the online portal was difficult to navigate.

She added that the company behind the construction proposals, Ampyr Solar Europ, had shown misleading pictures of sheep grazing among panels the same height as them but the panels will actually be 3m tall.

She said: "It's not okay to push something of this magnitude through planning without taking real time to consider the long-term impact on residents."

A representative from Ampyr Solar said that they had consulted broadly with the community and had made changes after the consultation.

The chair of the local community council said that the plans had created the biggest upset in the area in years.

Additional reporting by Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporting Service