A GIANT solar farm which could power up to 10,000 Somerset homes will be constructed mere yards from a protected area of Dorset countryside.

Elgin Energy applied for permission to construct the solar farm on good quality agricultural land on Pipplepen Lane in the village of North Perrott, near Crewkerne.

The company intends to occupy the site, which lies near the beginning of the Dorset area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), for at least the next three decades.

South Somerset District Council has given the green light to these proposals, arguing that the solar farm’s impact can be sufficiently mitigated through sensitive planting.

The site lies to the east of Pipplepen Lane, a stone’s throw from the Dorset border and a few hundred yards from the northern edge of the Dorset AONB.

The site is bordered to the north by the London to Exeter railway line, and is less than three miles from Crewkerne railway station, where around 300 new homes could soon be delivered.

While the actual solar site lies predominantly within Somerset, the primary access for maintenance and construction will be from the Dorset side, off the A356 within the neighbouring village of South Perrott.

The 32MW solar installation would cover some 54 hectares (around 133 acres) and would be operational for 30 years (though this could be extended at a later date.

Councillor Oliver Patrick (whose Parrett ward includes the site) said his constituents were widely supportive of the proposals when the council’s regulation committee met in Yeovil on Tuesday morning (January 17).

Mr Patrick – who used to live in North Perrott – told the committee: “Local residents, many of whom routinely express deep concern about climate change, are overwhelmingly positive about this application.

“It’s my personal opinion that the visual impact is acceptable, especially when weighted against the wider public benefits.

“This site does not dominate the landscape – it’s on low-lying land, and solar park development is likely to nestle into the countryside.

“Elgin Energy will be planting an estimated 10,000 trees and nearly a kilometre of new hedgerow to screen this development.”

Elgin Energy currently manages the Sutor Farm installation near Wincanton (which became operational in 2016), and is seeking permission for a further solar farm near the Tropiquaria Zoo between Washford and Williton.

Hugh Williams, chairman of the Somerset branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), said that a decision on the solar farm should be pushed back, citing a possible change in government policy.

He said: “There is an effective national ban on solar farms on the best and most versatile (BMV) agricultural land due to the food crisis.

“On November 17 last year, the secretary of state announced it’s the  government’s intention to review the definition of BMV to include the quality of land comprising much of this site. We ask for a vote to be deferred pending imminent clarification of government policy.

“This is a highly sensitive landscape in the setting of the Dorset AONB. A major footpath, the Parrett Trail, passes down the side of it.

“No amount of screening and landscaping is going to conceal the fact that the land will change character from an entirely rural landscape to an industrial one.

“This is the wrong location – they are many potential sites for solar farms in Somerset which are not next to one of the most important footpaths in the entire county.”

Judith Hall, a former geography teacher and lecturer who lives in the village, said: “Placing 120,000 glass panels on an area which equates to 80 football pitches in the catchment area of the River Parrett is a serious problem.

“It will have an impact on the hydrological process of the River Parrett – and I speak with some authority, having written a thesis on river drainage.

“I walk this site regularly, and this is going to be highly visible.”

Councillor Tony Capozzoli was dismissive of objections surrounding the River Parrett Trail, which runs for 50 miles from the river’s source in Cheddington to the estuary just outside Bridgwater.

He said: “The majority of these solar farms have got footpaths going through, and they accommodate these routes quite easily.

“By the time you look out from the trains, the panels are gone – I don’t think that’s an issue. I totally support this – I’d rather see this than wind turbines going in there.”

Councillor Tony Lock added: “This looks to be a case of the farmer diversifying, in this day and ages where a lot of farmers are finding their budgets cut for one reason or another – I won’t mention the horrible ‘b’-word.

“They are looking to carry on farming while reducing the carbon footprint.”

After around an hour’s debate, the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans.

Plans for a separate solar farm on the other side of Crewkerne – on Dunsham Lane in the hamlet of Wayford – will be considered by the council or its unitary successor at a later date.