Solar farm campaigners 'wading through' documents

The solar farm would cover more than 2,000 acres of countryside in Wiltshire

Campaigners fighting a proposed large solar park have said they are "wading" through hundreds of planning documents.

Island Green Power wants to build Lime Down Solar Park over more than 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of land near Malmesbury in Wiltshire.

Sir Mike Pitt, who lives in the nearby village of Foxley, said more than 300 planning documents have been uploaded to the Planning Inspectorate website which are "difficult for a layperson to understand" and have left campaigners "wading through" pages.

Will Threlfall, of Island Green Power said the company's team "remains on hand to answer questions and provide support accessing information" on the project.

The solar farm, which would be hooked up to the National Grid at Melksham substation via an underground cable, would be four miles (6.4km) wide and two miles (3.2km) long, with panels that would stand at 14.7ft (4.5m) tall.

Sir Pitt, a member of the Stop Lime Down campaign group, said: "Those documents were loaded up and made public on October 17th and people like me have been wading through them trying to have a full and detailed understanding of what is being proposed.

"A lot of the documents are technical and I think it's quite difficult for a layperson to deal with those documents and make sense of them."

Sir Pitt added: "It certainly has been described as a David and Goliath situation, and I think that's a very good representation of how it feels."

Sir Mike Pitt (second from left) is part of the group trying to stop the park being built

Sir Pitt said it is not solar power the Stop Lime Down group are campaigning against, but the scale of the project.

"We do believe in solar, but in the right place with the right scheme," he said. "This is a big scheme totally unsuited to the Cotswolds and being squeezed in amid nine villages. Norton village would be virtually surrounded by solar panels."

Island Green Power has previously said the facility could deliver up to 500 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity to 115,000 homes every year.

The developers for Lime Down submitted their application to the Planning Inspectorate on 19 September.

Mr Threlfall added: "Lime Down Solar Park is a nationally significant infrastructure project.

"Our application for a Development Consent Order therefore reflects the relevant requirements and guidance, which require detailed and comprehensive information, based on a significant design, assessment and consultation process.

"All of this information will be subject to a thorough examination, in which a wide range of people will be able to take part."