Campaigners overjoyed solar farm plans rejected

RWE appealed against this decision, but last week the government planning inspector Lora Hughes dismissed the appeal after hearing evidence from all sides.

Morton resident Neil Radford said: “It has been a great result for the community, for the wildlife and everything else here.

“It still shows that when people come together for a common cause on planning and environmental changes to their village, their voices can really make a difference.”

Becky Spackman, who was also part of the campaign, said at present the site had footpaths through fields that were accessible to the disabled and were popular with families, which would be greatly missed.

She said that she recognised the benefits of solar power, but believed that there were better ways to harness the Sun’s energy.

“We believe there are more suitable locations for solar panels, one of which is rooftops and another one is brownfield sites — but they do cost more,” added Spackman.

RWE said that solar farms were a clean and environmentally-friendly way of producing energy.