Environmental Project Management UK LTD had put in an application to install over 12,000 solar panels and two sub stations at a 9.85-hectare site at Thornlands Farm, Netley Marsh, New Forest.

However, the New Forest National Park Authority planning committee were advised that such a farm would go against national policy, and so turned the application down.

In Environmental Project Management UK LTD’s application, they described how the new solar farm would provide the National Grid with 6MW of renewable energy… which is about enough electricity to power around 2,450 homes per year.

The application went on to say that the development would take place in the ‘least tranquil’ part of the New Forest so any impact would be “highly localised and limited” and would be “outweighed by socio-economic and environmental benefits”.

The NPA (National Park Authority) took a different view though, deciding that the scale of the solar panels constituted as a “major development” to the area… and other such developments would normally be refused within the boundaries of a national park.

They went on to say that the application also didn’t adequately show that Environmental Project Management UK LTD would ensure there’d be no impact on local wildlife and habitats and completely skipped over the grazing needs of commoner’s livestock.

The NPA did however, want to point out that it fully supported renewable energy schemes, including solar, “that are consistent with the emphasis on small-scale developments”.