A highly unpopular solar farm could still be built in rural west Somerset after an appeal was lodged.

Elgin Energy applied in December 2021 to build a new solar farm north of Tropiquaria Zoo on the A39, near the village of Washford, on land owned by the Wyndham Estate.

Somerset Council’s planning committee west (which makes decisions on major applications for the former Somerset West and Taunton area) threw out the plans in July 2023, citing the damage to protected landscapes and the loss of high-quality agricultural land.

But this decision could soon be overturned after the London-based energy company lodged a formal appeal with the Planning Inspectorate.

The proposed solar farm would span several fields north of the Washford transmitting station, running from the B3190 Washford Hill to the Mineral Line active travel route, which connects Washford to the nearby town of Watchet.

Elgin Energy, which first consulted on the proposals back in May 2018, said the solar farm would provide around 25 million kWh of electricity per year – enough to provide power for 7,500 households.

A battery energy storage site will also be created near the site, allowing Elgin Energy to store surplus energy and sell it back to the National Grid at peak times.

Robert Dibble, the current tenant farmer at Kentsford Farm, told the planning committee on July 18, 2023 that building a solar farm on this land would be “a disaster just waiting to happen”.

He said: “I have lived and worked on the farm for 60 years.

“At the time when there is a national food crisis, it is vital that use of the most versatile land should continue – food security is just as important as energy security. The proposed solar installation shows total disregard for the running of the farm, splitting the holding into two.

“The adjacent fields just had their second gas leak in five years – this is a disaster just waiting to happen. Visitors have told me they come for the many footpaths, including the Mineral Line and the England Coast Path.

“Many have said they won’t choose to come back to the area if they have to look at industrial-looking panels. There has been a total and blatant contempt for me, my family and my livelihood.”

In addition to opposition from local residents, the planned solar farm was also strongly criticised by CPRE Somerset, the Exmoor National Park and the Quantock Hills National Landscape organisation.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the plans on two grounds:

The development “fails to take into account the local visual adverse impact on the landscape”, especially in relation to Exmoor and the Quantock Hills

The development would “result in the loss of the best and most versatile agricultural land”, contrary to the West Somerset Local Plan

A spokesman for RPS Group (representing Elgin Energy) said in its appeal statement that the damage to agricultural land and the surrounding landscape would be minimal, given that the solar farm would only be a temporary installation.

The spokesman said: “The proposed development is temporary in nature, albeit for 40 years.

“It would not be a permanent and total loss of land. The majority of the land could continue in agricultural use during the operation of the solar farm, although this would not be in line with its current agricultural use as arable land.

“This proposed site has been selected as it is not within a designated area (i.e. a national park or national landscape).

“New landscaping secured through planning conditions would mitigate the impact on the public right of ways to an acceptable level.”

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed the appeal will be resolved through written representations, rather than an in-person public inquiry.

Formal representations to the inquiry can be made via www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk quoting planning reference number 3337226, before May 2. A final ruling is expected in the summer.