Solar farm to power 15,000 homes near Tetsworth approved

Key authorities including the Environment Agency say they have no problem with the planned solar farm going ahead

A solar farm that will generate electricity for about 15,000 homes will be built on farmland in Oxfordshire.

Land at Harlesford Farm, near Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, will be used to generate solar power for 40 years.

The local branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said it feared it would cause "massive industrialisation" of the countryside.

But South Oxfordshire District Council's planning committee gave it the go-ahead at a meeting on Thursday.

The solar farm will be built across 78 hectares (193 acres) of land and produce about 49.99 megawatts of electricity.

Sheep and lambs, which are currently kept on the land, will still be able to graze on grass around the solar panels once they are in place.

The owners of the land said they are happy their land can make a "meaningful contribution" to fighting climate change

Sheila Stoakes, whose family farm the land, said money from the solar farm would ensure it could be kept for future generations.

She said her family was happy that it could make a "meaningful contribution to combatting climate change" by allowing their land to generate electricity for renewable energy company Low Carbon.

A substation and 30 inverters, which will be roughly the size of shipping containers, will also be built on the site.

The CPRE said the farm would intrude on sights of "attractive countryside" for motorists using the M40, which runs about 850m (2,800ft) from the site.

The Environment Agency, Highways England and the council's climate action lead officer said they had no objections to the solar farm.

The authority's conservation officer said it would result in "less than substantial harm" on the countryside.