A NEW solar farm saving thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions has been approved in the Hampshire countryside.

The 16-acre park between Bishop's Waltham and Waltham Chase was backed by planners despite fears the settlement gap will be "industrialised".

Nearly 12,000 panels will be installed at Forest Farm, generating enough power for 850 homes.

Shedfield Parish Council said the installation would damage countryside and attempts to conceal the panels would add to their "industrialised" look.

A solar park three times the size has already been approved for farmland on the other side of Winchester Road. That scheme, by Solafields, will produce enough clean energy to power up to 4,500 homes.

Speaking at Winchester City Council's planning committee yesterday, Cllr Therese Evans said adding more panels would "visually close the gap" between neighbouring villages.

Neil Truphet, representing developer Earthworm Energy, said the Forest Farm scheme would generate enough power for 850 homes and save 1,520 tonnes of CO2 per year.

"As is being discussed in Paris right now, this is an increasingly important issue for us all," he said.

The scheme can be removed after 25 years and is "not easily seen" from the main road, Mr Truphet added.

The council received six letters of objection, with two people supporting and two commenting on traffic.