DEVELOPERS have lost an appeal over a controversial solar panel development near Abingdon.

The Planning Inspectorate has this month thrown out KS SPV36 Ltd’s appeal over council refusal of the plan for three fields at Garford.

The development would stretch 1.4 miles and have 23 inverter stations and 39 CCTV cameras.

The planning inquiry inspector, John Woolcock, said: “The metal structures of the frames and the construction of the panels, along with their regular arrangement in long rows, would be out of keeping with the character of the area.

“The manmade structure would be of a colour and texture that was not typical of this agricultural landscape, and so the proposed development would introduce a discordant element of substantial scale into the local landscape.”

He said: “The effects of the scheme on views from local roads would be significant, and that the proposal would harm the visual amenity of the area.”

And he said the scale of the development would have a “significant adverse effect on the area”.

While the development would make a “valuable contribution” to cutting emissions this did not outweigh concerns, Mr Woolcock added.

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