VILLAGERS have joined forces to oppose a huge solar farm on land which inspired Watership Down.

Anglo Renewables has unveiled proposals for the 86-acre site on Strattons Farm, Kingsclere, close to the famous hillside which was immortalised in Richard Adams' novel. 

Residents from areas including Kingsclere, Sydmonton, Ecchinswell, Ashford Hill and Headley have formed a campaign group, Village Solar Farm (VSF), to fight the plans which campaigners say would ‘ruin the countryside’.

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VSF has launched a protest petition against the plans, which so far has more than 500 signatures, which calls for people to “rally together quickly, before this industrialisation starts, and save our fields for food production”.

Sheilah Openshaw from the group said: “The first accusation is that anyone objecting is called a NIMBY. How easy to point a finger before asking why we object?

“The second is the net zero issue and we are accused of being anti net zero when the truth could not be further from that throwaway accusation. Net zero is very important, but so is how we achieve it. 

“We are all in this together, it should not be the opportunity for some get-rich-quick scheme which leaves us impoverished in other ways.”

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Anglo Renewables has said the scheme is a “temporary development, allowing the land to rest for the period of operation up to 40 years”, and argues that the proposal will include measures to enhance biodiversity and the landscape, such as the planting of new hedgerows and the 'gapping up' of existing ones.

The solar farm would produce enough clean, renewable electricity to power more than 6,000 homes annually and would offset more than 5,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, the developer claims.

Ms Openshaw said: “A child born today could become a grandparent in the 40 years Anglo Renewables claim is a temporary development. DEFRA does not recognise solar developments as agricultural; this is a change of use to industrial development. Solar panels have a life expectancy of about 15 years, better forms of mass power generation will be available then so what is to become of this industrial site? Will it become a different industrial site or will it become part of greater Newbury? The land is unlikely to be suitable for return to agriculture.”

Anglo Renewables has said the development would “power” 6,252 homes, but Ms Openshaw says it would not but it will “supply the electricity used by those homes” – therefore only providing a proportion of their power.

Concerns have also been raised about biodiversity, Ms Openshaw said: “A large-scale solar array has the potential to increase biodiversity in an area, but one has to ask by how much can biodiversity be increased on this site. It (the site) is already close to ancient woodlands, evidence of protected species are listed on the National Biodiversity Network for this area, it provides a corridor for migrating species.”

Anglo Renewables was contacted for a comment but it did not respond.