Bramley solar farm plan rejected by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

About 680 people formally opposed the solar farm (not pictured) going ahead

A plan to build a solar farm on land equivalent to the size of 100 football pitches has been refused.

The company behind the project planned for Bramley, Hampshire, said it would have provided enough energy to power 11,700 family homes.

About 680 people formally said they were opposed to it going ahead.

Councillors rejected it on the grounds of the impact on the public right of way and hampering exploration of the area's Roman history.

The proposed development at Minchens Lane - known as Bramley Frith - would have been operational for up to 40 years and span 85 hectares (210 acres) of agricultural land.

Protesters claimed the solar farm would hamper exploration of the area's Roman history

Bramley Solar Ltd, the company behind the project, said previously the solar farm would have provided "reliable and urgently needed source of low carbon and renewable energy".

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's planning officers had recommended that the plan got the go-ahead at a meeting on Wednesday.

But 11 of 12 councillors at the authority's development control committee voted against it.

Ron Hussey, a Liberal Democrat councillor who was the only member in favour of the plan, said the decision left him "ashamed" of being a committee member.

"Tonight, all I've heard is: 'somewhere else, [build solar panels] on top of buildings'. We're waiting for somebody else to come forward.

"We're doing nothing - we need to seize the initiative. And we're failing this evening," he said.