“Horrified” residents reveal plans for a “huge” solar farm 80 football pitches right next to their £400,000 homes and say it will “ruin our views… it should go somewhere else”.

• Lower Wyke Solar Farm, Wiltshire will provide electricity for 7,252 family homes
• But locals say the project will cover “productive” farmland with hoards of billboards
• It is also feared that the scheme will ruin biodiversity and cause glare from the sun

“Horrified” residents have slammed plans for a “huge” solar farm the size of 80 football pitches right next to their £400,000 homes, claiming it will “ruin” their views and developers “should go elsewhere part”.

Lower Wyke Solar Farm hopes to provide electricity to 7,252 family homes annually using energy produced on the 86-acre site in the picturesque country village of Picket Piece, near Andover, Hampshire.

The scheme is expected to lead to a reduction of more than 256,000 tonnes of CO2, according to British Solar Renewables (BSR), which is behind the project.

But the locals say that The “bonkers” plans will cover “productive” farmland with hordes of panels they claim will destroy biodiversity and cause glare from the sun.

They also criticized “non-existent consultation”, meaning they were unaware of the proposals on the land, which is classified as an Area of ​​Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The site is part of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape and residents are concerned it will set a precedent “up and down the country” to allow conservation land to be built on, with some arguing “solar panels belong on rooftops”.

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Events manager Karen Wakefield, 58, moved to the Mulberry Court retirement property, which is about 100 meters from the development, two years ago for the peace, quiet and views of the greenery.

She told MailOnline: ‘We’ve all bought here because of where we are, to look at nothing but greenery.

“(The proposed farm) didn’t come up in any searches, so all of a sudden you might be looking at a lot of solar panels it’s not pretty.

“We are losing so much of the environment and green land for houses, which is needed. They have to find another way to do it.

“They can put billboards over our houses, but they can’t ruin the green we have left.”

Barry Marshall, 67, moved to the same area to enjoy retirement from lorry driving but is now worried the proposal, submitted by BSR to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, will destroy his view and wildlife local.

“It will spoil the view,” he said. “As much as we need solar farms, there are other places they can go.

“They spoil all the open green spaces.

“We need this for the animals or it will kill them.

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“(His neighbors) are all worried. They are all old and this is their last house, you want it to be nice.

Retired charity fundraiser Liz Cosgrove, who has had cancer five times, said: “I’ve done a lot of research into it and it’s too close.

“It is recommended to be 500 meters away from people and we are not more than 100 meters away. It just terrifies me to be so close.

The 69-year-old also expressed concern about the “beautiful view” affected by the imposition of solar panels.

Another woman is worried about the sheer scale of the plans and the glare of the sun being reflected.

She said: “I am surrounded by farmland that will be used for the solar farm.

“The land is wonderful, but the site will be huge, it will be prominent.

“They never told me anything – I had no notice, it’s almost like they went into hiding.”

She also said she was at the consultation meeting where it had to be pointed out by local people that the proposed site was an AONB.

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“I was most unimpressed,” she said. “You have to be more proactive than that.

“If this goes through with this, it sets a precedent.”

She expressed concern about the “chaos” the new poles and cables will cause as they are connected to the national grid.

Her daughter said: “If you look in Andover there are loads of solar farms – it’s borderline surrounded by them.

We already have a lot of trucks and they are all small lanes around here.

She explained that farmland is more valuable than ever with the potential for extreme weather.

“We have to keep some independence,” she added.

She said there was “no logic” in Hampshire County Council’s policy of not putting hoardings on top of industrial buildings and instead putting them in green spaces.

“I fully appreciate that we need renewable energy,” she added.

“But the climate crisis can also be mitigated by organic farming.”

Nearby farmland manager Mike Farrell, 41, said: “They want to build a solar farm in an AONB that is bad.

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“It is productive farmland and will set a precedent up and down the country if approved.

“The access will be appalling and cause a lot of aggravation locally.

“We are not against solar energy, but in the right place. It doesn’t seem that well thought out.

With a little more thought, there is a place for it.

Mr Farrell added that it was a “disgrace” that local people were not properly engaged during the consultation.

Neighbor James Coulton objected “vehemently” to the scheme and said: “I would like to point out that BSR Energy appears to have deliberately misled the community about the land returning to ‘green’ after 40 years.

“At the consultation meeting they said that would be the case, but clearly they would have known that the buildings would have resulted in brownfield status.

“Overall, I cannot see how fertile farmland in an AONB can be considered for this use.”

The Voluntary Group Farms for Agriculture – which is committed to preserving the country’s valuable farmland for food production – also opposed it.

“Put simply, you can’t grow grains, fruits and vegetables, or graze sheep on rooftops, but you can put solar panels there,” they said.

“(We’re) committed to renewable energy, but solar panels belong on rooftops, not on valuable farmland.”

When approached at his farm, the acreage farmer declined to comment.

MailOnline has contacted British Solar Renewables for comment.