A planning application for 200 ground-mounted solar panels in Potterne has been submitted by resident Robert Hunt-Grubbe.

They are proposed for a field to the south of Court Hill on the western side of Potterne on land which is part of the estate owned and run by Mr Hunt-Grubbe, of Eastwell Manor.

The panels would be mounted in four groups of 50 on the northern edge of the field and would be linked via an underground cable to Eastwell Manor.

It is intended that the panels would generate 50kw to provide electricity for Eastwell Manor to help the applicant be more self-sufficient, with any excess sold to the National Grid.

Planning agent Paul Oakley says in the application: “The (Wiltshire) council have previously agreed to a number of PV installations of this type elsewhere, where a small amount of agricultural land is used for sustainable electricity generation.

“The area is not a designated habitat so it is not considered that there would be any adverse impact on the biodiversity of the field edge.

“The panels will not have a significant impact on the appearance of the area – other than immediately adjacent to where they are sited – which is not in the public domain.

“This proposal would not have a significant or adverse impact on landscape around the site, people using the footpaths in the area or the occupiers of the adjoining properties.”