EAST Hampshire District Council has backed Dippenhall residents dismayed by the prospect of a 21,000-panel hillside solar farm on their doorsteps.

The planning application for a 27-acre field just over the county boundary on the Marsh House Estate at Bentley, has been turned down by planning officers.

It would have been the first solar farm in the district.

The council's environmental health department, admitting to a lack of experience of the potential impact, had recommend that the panels be coated to reduce glare and reflectivity.

But the effect on the landscape, the loss of versatile agricultural land and fears of neighbours being affected by unacceptable water run-off have all led to the application being refused.

For full story, see this week's Farnham Herald.