Councillors have blocked plans to build 65,000 solar panels in the Huntingdonshire countryside over concerns farmland could be lost forever.

Plans had come forward to create a new solar farm on land north east of Bates Lodge in Peterborough Road, Haddon.

Wessex Solar Energy proposed to install the solar panels over 102 acres of farmland.

The company said the new Solar Park would generate enough renewable energy to power 7,713 homes a year.

The proposals had been met with backlash from people in the area with 106 objections being lodged with the district by members of the public. However, 49 comments of support were also made.

Councillors had voted to refuse the planning application at a Huntingdonshire District Council meeting at the end of last year.

They had argued the plans had “failed to demonstrate it would not lead to the irreversible loss” of agricultural land, and said the development would cause an “adverse impact to the landscape and countryside character”.

However, the proposals were brought back before councillors following a change to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

A report presented to the council’s development management committee this week (January 22) said these changes included that planning authorities need to “attribute significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements”.

Planning officers told councillors that this update was considered to be a “material change” to the policy and needed to now be taken into account with regards to the solar farm plans.

The report said: “As an application for renewable energy generation, officers consider [the NPPF update] applies to this development, as it supports the transition to low carbon alternative energy generation.

“In the context of the emerging future homes standard that is likely to require electric heating sources, as opposed to gas, this proposal would help meet those future needs and the transition to a low carbon, energy efficient built environment.

“To afford significant weight to such planning applications is considered to be a material change in policy circumstance that should be factored into the planning balance.”

Councillor Eric Butler said: “I have read the new NPPF fairly thoroughly, I do not consider anything really changes greatly.”

Councillor Jon Neish said he agreed and added that he would support confirming the committee’s decision to refuse the plans.

Councillor Tom Sanderson said he disagreed with this view and said he felt there had been a “significant change”.

However, Cllr Sanderson said the committee had overall voted to refuse the application back in December and said he believed this would be a “difficult” decision to change.

When the decision was put to a vote eight councillors voted to still refuse the application with one councillor voting against this.