A NEW solar farm generating enough energy to power 1,400 homes could be built on the outskirts of Oxford.

Proposals for the farm in Beckley, five miles from the city centre, have been put to members of the public for consideration.

The site would save 2,400 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, the equivalent of taking 549 cars off the road according to the company behind the plans, Lightsource Renewable Energy.

Plans for a larger farm on the same site were abandoned in 2013 after negative feedback from South Oxfordshire District Council.

Beckley and Stowood Parish Council chairman David Scott said the fresh plans for 28 acres were unwelcome.

He said: “We are fearful of anything that spoils the countryside and fills in the Green Belt.

“There are only a few amazing cities like Oxford, Bath and Cambridge maybe and it’s a great place to walk and drive through.

This can only be described as an eyesore.”

The site is located off the B4027 between the villages of Beckley and Elsfield to the north of Oxford.

In 2012, proposals for a 74 acre solar farm estimated to generate power for 3,000 homes were put forward at the same farm by a different company, ADAS.

The firm dropped the plans for Green Belt land between Beckley and Barton in February 2013 after negative feedback from South Oxfordshire District Council planners.

The new site will have a generation capacity of five Megawatt Peak with panels up to a height of 2.5m.

Lightsource Renewable Energy planning and development director Conor McGuigan said: “We invest considerable resources in our site selection process to ensure that only the most suitable sites are progressed.

We work closely with ecologists and landscape consultants, while taking on board feedback from local residents and councillors to minimise any views and maximise the benefit to the surrounding community.”

Plans have gone on display, and an information pack has been sent to residents.