'Don't go ahead with this solar farm'

Gary Williams, Richard Kramer and Yolande and Bruce Milburn have concerns about the planned solar farm

Almost 500 people have signed a petition to halt plans for a 106-acre (43-hectare) solar farm in Cornwall.

Elgin Energy submitted a request for pre-application advice from Cornwall Council before submitting a full planning application for the 50-year project at Bocaddon Farm, Lanreath.

However, some residents said plans for the land, equivalent to 69 football pitches, would have a detrimental impact on communities across Lanreath and Pelynt, and that the company did not realise the "level of opposition and anger from local communities", so it should "not go ahead with this solar farm".

The BBC has approached Elgin Energy for comment.

'Inappropriate developments'

The solar farm would provide sufficient clean electricity to power approximately 9,700 average households annually and promises a substantial reduction in carbon emissions – about 4,979 tonnes of CO2 each year – the application says.

The proposal would be built near Bury Down, an Iron Age hill fort believed to originate between 800BC and 43AD, a 400-year-old heritage hedge which runs from Looe to Lostwithiel.

Some residents have argued that, if approved, it would be in the wrong place, within an area of great landscape value.

Richard Kramer, whose house is in the middle of the proposed development near Looe, said: "Our message to Elgin is to reconsider, note the level of opposition and anger from local communities and not go ahead with this solar farm.

"We are talking about a large 106-acre solar farm, disproportionate in size to the area that would significantly downgrade the quality of our villages and will have a significant adverse impact on its character and the landscape locally.

"This isn't just about our neighbours and communities who would be affected today. This solar farm if it goes ahead will be in place for 50 years.

"This will affect our children and one day their families too. We don't want the main road to our villages from Lanreath to Looe to be blighted for generations to come by inappropriate industrial developments."

Mr Kramer claimed the energy company did not consult the local community before putting in pre-application advice.

He said: "We understand and appreciate the aim for net zero, but not at this cost to our beautiful countryside and landscape here in South East Cornwall."

Resident Bruce Milburn, whose property sits within the valley where the solar farm would be built, said he was "not anti-solar, but this isn't proportionate to the environment".

"It's massive, it's too much for here," he added.

"When a wind turbine on the land went up, I thought: 'Oh, God!' but it's not a problem at all.

"But this is an Alice in Wonderland situation. It's just out of proportion – it's that simple."