Plans to build a solar farm the size of 150 football pitches in Oxfordshire have been approved.

The Dodswells Solar Farm project will see 278 acres of land north of the A40 near Milton Common and Tetsworth turned into a solar farm.

Electric energy company Opdenergy, which has headquarters in Spain, has said the farm will generate enough low carbon electricity to power up to 13,500 homes per year.

READ MORE: Plans for huge solar farm in Oxfordshire to be decided today

The application was approved by South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee and the decision comes despite objections lodged by Great Milton, Great Haseley and Tetsworth parish councils.

These councils had concerns about its potential size and effect on the countryside.

However, the council’s case officer William Sparling recommended the plans were approved.

READ MORE: Oxford Tesco fire: Police investigating 'potential arson'

He said they would “avoid the loss best and most versatile agricultural land, retain agriculture within and between solar panels, propose biodiversity enhancements, tree planting and suitably mitigate other possible impacts arising from the proposal".

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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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