PLANNING officers have recommended conditional approval for a huge 40 acre solar farm to be installed in Brixton. South Hams Council's development management committee is being recommended to conditionally approve the application at next week's meeting. Last month Brixton Parish Council objected to the application to install over 20,000 solar panels on the land adjacent to Balls Wood. A spokesman from the parish council said: 'The construction would impact residents and businesses at Gentian Hill, Wollaton and Hareston.' The council also had concerns over 'issues surrounding traffic, with narrow lanes and the sizes of lorries accessing the farm'. Planning officers say the proposal was revised during the life of the application to reduce the proposed site by around 20 per cent. Following discussions during the consideration of the application, the most eastern field – which accounted for around 20 per cent of the site area – had been removed from the application.

For more on this story, see this week's Ivybridge & South Brent Gazette