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'Put solar panels on warehouse roofs, not fields'

Kate Bradbrook/BBC Juliet Jarvis with long dark hair wearing a blue jacket and sitting at a table on a lawn looking at a map. Two men are looking over a hedge behind her.Kate Bradbrook/BBC
Juliet Jarvis said the campaign group understood the need for renewable power but wanted it in the right place

Villagers living near a planned multi-site solar farm have said the facility should be built on warehouse roofs instead of farmers' fields.

Island Green Power wants to build the 500 MW facility on eight sites between Lavendon in Buckinghamshire and Mears Ashby in Northamptonshire.

The firm said boosting solar generation was essential and the Green Hill plan would provide a "substantial source of renewable electricity" for 115,000 homes.

Campaigners said they understood the need for a solar farm but believed the impact on nearby villages would be devastating.

The developers insisted it would boost the UK's efforts to ensure energy security and combat climate change.

Kate Bradbrook/BBC Village road junction showing large stone-built two-storey house with small windows. There are skid marks on the road.Kate Bradbrook/BBC
Easton Maudit is one village that would be close to the solar farm

Campaigners in nearby villages added it would also have a huge impact on rural life.

Juliet Jarvis, who lives in Grendon and is part of the Stop Green Hill Solar group, said: "This is not about not wanting it in our back yard.

"We want renewable power but there's better places to put it than on our best and most versatile agricultural land that's busy growing crops and feeding Britain."

Kate Bradbrook/BBC Trevor Higgs with short white hair and beard wearing a blue jacket and standing at a road junction with a church behind himKate Bradbrook/BBC
Campaigner Trevor Higgs said there would be "no views" from footpaths near the solar farm

Trevor Higgs is concerned about the effect of the project on the landscape traversed by the village's footpaths, for which he is the official warden.

He believes there will be "no views at all" from footpaths that pass through the solar farm.

He said: "They could have put them on to all the warehouses that have been developed in Northamptonshire and we would be almost self-sufficient already."

Kate Bradbrook/BBC Nick Frampton with short white hair wearing a black raincoat and standing on grass in front of a churchKate Bradbrook/BBC
Nick Frampton said the construction of the solar farm would destroy the peacefulness of the village

Mears Ashby resident Nick Frampton added: "The construction work will more or less destroy the peacefulness of the village because of the number of lorries that are going to be coming through."

Kate Bradbrook/BBC Field with trees and bushes and a small stone buildingKate Bradbrook/BBC
Campaigners believe quality farmland is not the right place for solar panels

Island Green Power have been asked to respond. Previously they said: "We are already consulting locally with the planning authorities on the application and would encourage people to engage with the consultation process."

If the project gets planning permission, construction is expected to start in 2027 and electricity will be supplied to the grid from 2029.

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