PLANS to put solar panels on 64 acres of farmland at Highnam have been approved amid strong opposition.

The project, which would see ground mounted solar panels and a battery energy storage system at Lassington were given the go-ahead by Tewkesbury borough planners The proposal by PACE Brigadier Energy Limited’s has sparked serious concerns that Highnam could “overwhelm” the village

Hingham Parish Council chairman Charlie Coats outlined their five reasons for objection to Tewkesbury Borough Council’s planning committee.

But the landowner told councillors it would secure the future of the farm

Cllr Coats said the site lies less than 540 yards from a recently completed solar farm at Persh Farm in Maisemore while another scheme for a 146-acre site off Two Mile Lane was submitted to the council in March.

And plans for a solar farm at Linton Farm, which would cover 360 acres, are expected imminently as pre-application talks have taken place, he said.

“Taken together, these would extend to 675 acres, meaning approximately one third of the farmland of the village would be covered in semi-industrial development,” he said.

“I would commend for your consideration the Forest of Dean District Council decision to refuse consent for a similar development at Murrels End Farm, Hartpury, on the grounds of over provision of solar farms in the locality.”

Hee said almost 80 per cent of the site was classed as the best and most valuable land for growing a wide range of crops.

“Recent drought conditions and international conflicts compound the pressing need to conserve good quality land for food production,” he said.

And he also raised concerns about highway safety risks large construction vehicles would pose in Lassington Lane which is well used by cyclists and walkers.

He also said the size of the scheme would overwhelm the nearby village and would “destroy the attractive views over the whole of the Lassington Valley” and affect the view of the late Saxon St Oswald’s Tower. Landowner Tony Smith said the solar scheme would provide the security to continue farming.

“This solar development is not about giving up our land, it is about holding onto it,” he said.

“It’s about giving the next generation the security and opportunity to continue farming here just as generations have done before.

“Today, we run a beef enterprise. We buy in young calves, rear, fatten them and ultimately sell them into the food chain.

“With this development, farming will not stop, we will continue to farm the cattle on the farm outside the solar area.

“Within the solar farm, we intend to bring sheep back onto the farm grazing beneath and under the panels.

“This is not the end of agriculture at Lassington, it is the next chapter and solar gives our family something farming has rarely been able to give us, certainty.”

Cllr Robert Vines (Con, Badgeworth), who proposed granting permission said: “We are not losing the agricultural land.

The committee voted to grant permission by three votes to two.