Solar farm for 18,000 homes receives objections

The proposed facility would occupy roughly 89 hectares of fields in south Northamptonshire

A bid to build a major solar farm near rural villages in the south of a county has received more than 130 objections.

Yardley Road Solar Farm Limited wants permission from West Northamptonshire Council to install photovoltaic panels on about 220 acres (89 hectares) of fields between Potterspury and Yardley Gobion.

If approved, developers say the 40MW scheme could power more than 18,000 homes - and have a lifespan of 40 years.

But an objector wrote that the development "far outweighs the limited and temporary energy gains". They said it would urbanise the green wedge between the two villages and set a precedent that would make it harder to protect adjacent fields from industrialisation.

Another said: "We have countless amounts of village residents and from surrounding areas enjoy the fields and the nature. When is enough enough? We just keep building and putting eye sores on beautiful parts of our countryside."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the proposed site branches off from either side of Yardley Road and is only 70 metres (0.04 miles) from the nearest homes in Yardley Gobion.

The Reform UK-controlled council is expected to vote on the proposal in October.

The proposed solar far site is close to homes in Yardley Gobion and Pottersbury

Independent councillor for Deanshanger and Paulerspury, Ian McCord, put his objection to the scheme across in an open letter.

In it, he said that the loss of productive farmland, biodiversity and industrialisation of fields was contrary to council policy.

He added that the traffic assessment showed "no knowledge of the A5 and complete indifference to the communities living nearby".

Potterspury Parish Council has also expressed concern over the size and scale of the proposal across 12 fields, which is almost twice the size of the village confines.

It will discuss the proposal at a meeting on 10 September, before submitting a formal response to the council.

Yardley Road Solar Farm Limited cited social and economic benefits of the scheme, including work opportunities for local contractors and income for the authority as a result of the energy generation rates.

It concluded: "Careful site selection and design has produced a scheme that maximises the potential to capture solar energy whilst minimising impacts on the environment and local landscape."