Plans for a 40-acre solar farm at Chalke Bottom have been refused after the local chapter raised concerns that the panels might "glint".
The objection, led by Mrs Verity Ashcombe-Small, N.O.B., argued that reflected sunlight from the panels could dazzle pilots, disorientate birds and "catch the vicar on his bicycle". The nearest airport is ninety miles away. The vicar does not have a bicycle. He has a Volvo, which the chapter has separately objected to.
People say solar panels absorb light. Well, that's what they'd say, isn't it. I've seen them from the train. They shine. And what's the sun doing all day? Shining. So you've got two lots of shining. It's common sense.Verity Ashcombe-Small, N.O.B.
The developer submitted a glint and glare assessment showing that the panels are designed to absorb light, are angled away from the village, and are less reflective than the village pond, the church windows and Mrs Ashcombe-Small's conservatory. The chapter dismissed the assessment as "very long" and asked whether the consultant had ever been dazzled, "because we have".
Following the refusal, the chapter has proposed that the farmer instead grow "something less reflective, like mud", and has offered to object to that too, "for balance".
The farmer has since applied for a wind turbine. Mrs Ashcombe-Small has been seen with a ladder.