Labour REJECTS one of Europe’s largest solar farm at Winston Churchill’s birthplace

Photovolt Development Partners, behind the scheme, said the project would have powered the equivalent of 275,000 homes, with the solar panels in place for 40 years.

But it met with fierce opposition from campaigners who complained that the solar farm would be an “ocean of glass and steel” across the Oxfordshire countryside.

Developers argued the project was set back from the grounds of the palace itself, which is a Unesco world heritage site.

They said the scheme, which would have been divided into three linked areas, would provide grazing for livestock, new footpaths and cycle paths, and provisions for nature.

However, planning inspectors said disrupting the surrounding landscape “would erode the spirit and sense of place” of Blenheim.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh rejected the solar farm – in line with the advice of the planning inspectors – on the grounds of the harm it could do to the area.

The decision cited harm to Green Belt land and the historic setting of Blenheim Palace, the 18th-century ancestral home and birthplace of the wartime prime minister.

Inspectors found the developer had not given adequate consideration to the historic and cultural significance of the palace.

Concerns were also raised over substantial harms the solar farm would do the landscape and the impacts on aviation from London Oxford Airport, which could present an “unacceptable” risk to public safety.

Blenheim Estates owns 90 per cent of the land within the earmarked site which would have been leased to the developers.

Campaign group Stop Botley West said: “Congratulations to everyone. SBW are so pleased that all the hard work has paid off.”

SBW’s John Orme said the news had “restored a bit of faith” in the planning process.

He said the group supported solar energy but added: “We really would like solar more on roofs, on brownfield sites, on industrial sites.”

The solar industry said it was disappointed and surprised by the decision.

Trade Association Solar Energy UK’s chief executive Chris Hewett described the decision as “regrettable”.

“We all know the desperate need for cheaper power and to push expensive gas off the grid – and that’s exactly what solar farms deliver,” he said.

“Moreover, economies of scale mean that the largest developments, such as Botley West, supply the cheapest power.

“Nevertheless, there are multiple gigawatts of consented capacity waiting in the wings.

“Next year will no doubt see more solar farms constructed than ever before, helping to lower prices by pushing gas off the grid.

“This is still a very positive time for the sector.”

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter