Rutland residents are in uproar against a planned solar farm near Langham.

Scores of comments have been sent to Rutland County Council concerning the proposal on land at Ranksborough Farm, Melton Road, Langham.

Elgin Energy EsCo Ltd seek to use 51.6 ha of farmland directly west of Langham to make 28MW of electricity.

The villages of Cold Overton, Barleythorpe and Oakham are also nearby.

The application to Rutland County Council was submitted in November 2019 and is expected to come before its planning committee in the coming months.

The applicants say the site is not located within a Conservation Area and nor are there any Listed Buildings or environmental designations within or immediately adjacent to the site.

It continued: "The site is immediately surrounded by agricultural land, with the settlement of Langham to the east.

"There are positive benefits arising from this renewable energy scheme, which will raise the profile of renewable energy in the local community, and may encourage greater take up of solar power on domestic properties as the benefits are seen and understood.

The application concluded: "Overall, we are of the view that the proposals are appropriate in terms of design and access and represent a necessary step towards meeting the UK's legally binding climate change and renewable energy obligations."

However, residents and Langham Parish Council oppose the scheme.

Langham Parish Council has told the county council it has no objection in principle to solar farms, but it opposes this one due to its scale, design and visual impact and it has concerns about how the applicant consulted with the community.

Among the community, Miss Christine Gillies of Langham said: "At over 100 acres, it is much too large for a greenfield site which is remote from industry ( ie not being used to supply adjacent industry eg as in Ketton, Uppingham). Installations of such size are normally on brownfield sites."

Mrs Susan Lee of Langham also objected saying: "The proposed development is too big, and will dwarf the village.

She told the planning authority: "Please reject current proposal and suggest to the developer that the plans for a smaller installation be submitted instead."

Professor Kathleen Wales of Oakham said: "The proposed Solar Windfarm would be bigger than the whole village site. A development on such a scale so close to a rural village has not been granted anywhere else.

"The development would blight the village and even the electricity generated would be of no immediate benefit to the village. Neither have the developers offered any suggestion of negotiating a fair and equitable Community Benefit Fund."

David Bovey of Langham also said: "The sheer scale of the proposal is out of proportion to the size of Langham Village. Indeed, it's footprint would be greater than that of the whole Village.

"A smaller proposal together with the offer of a fair Community Benefit Fund payment suggests a way forward."

A spokesman for Rutland County Council told Nub News the council has no firm date yet for when the application will come before its planning committee, but it expects to in a week or so.