Business and Environment Correspondent, BBC West<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Wiltshire Political Reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n People living in some of Britain’s most picturesque villages have been divided by plans for a one of the biggest solar parks in the country.<\/p>\n Developers want to build solar panels on 2,000 acres of farmland near Malmesbury in the Cotswolds, producing enough energy for 115,000 homes.<\/p>\n Rosie Clark is one of hundreds of local campaigners who believes it will “decimate the local area”. <\/p>\n But supporters of the scheme, including the former mayor of Malmesbury Lesley Bennett, accused opponents of being “well-connected people” whose leaflets are “full of mistakes”. <\/p>\n The government wants to quadruple the amount of solar power generated in the UK. But wherever developers propose new solar farms, opposition springs up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rosie Clark lives in a stone cottage surrounded by Cotswold fields and hedgerows in Wiltshire.<\/p>\n She is worried there could be more than “a million panels which will be as high as a double-decker bus”.<\/p>\n The developers have not confirmed exact numbers, but have said it would be ‘no more than 700,000 panels’.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It will completely swamp nine local villages,” Ms Clark said.<\/p>\n “We are in an area of outstanding national beauty. It will decimate the local area, which relies a lot on tourism.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Meanwhile, Lesley Bennett is one of a few people who will speak up for the solar scheme. <\/p>\n “It’s nimbyism, it’s perfect nimbyism,” she said.<\/p>\n “We need clean energy. We need to be energy independent.”<\/p>\n The campaign to Stop Lime Down is well organised. Hundreds of people have been signed up, leaflets printed, there are signs everywhere in these north Wiltshire villages.<\/p>\n But Mrs Bennett thinks there are many silent solar supporters, who dare not speak up.<\/p>\n “It’s a few well-connected rich people who’ve created a brilliant campaign,” she says.<\/p>\n “But it’s an illusion. This leaflet is full of mistakes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Campaigners are well aware the odds are against them.<\/p>\n Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has already approved several big solar schemes<\/a>, just as big as Lime Down.<\/p>\n Mr Miliband wants to quadruple the UK’s solar power generation capacity, which he says will “make the UK a clean energy superpower”.<\/p>\n Ms Clark said she is “all for wind and solar energy”, just not on farmland.<\/p>\n “We should not be using agricultural land and destroying our future food security for solar panels,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mrs Bennett highlighted that only half of the 2,000 acres (878 hectares) proposed for development would have solar panels or related buildings on.<\/p>\n The developers, Island Green Power, have allocated 47% of the land for environmental purposes.<\/p>\n Mrs Bennett said that solar fields have always worked alongside nature.<\/p>\n She said: “You can have sheep on there, you can have wildlife on there, they put in beehives and ponds and all sorts.”<\/p>\n The company’s first public consultation ran into serious opposition. Their own report found that 88% of local people<\/a> were opposed to their plans.<\/p>\n Now the developers, Island Green Power, said they have listened and learned.<\/p>\n Will Threllfall, senior project development manager, said he was ‘really grateful’ to everyone who responded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Lesley](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/3d4c\/live\/36041300-dd7a-11ef-848f-998d0175b76f.jpg.webp\")
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