A SUMMIT of parish councils is being called to look at last-ditch efforts to stop a massive solar park being built on West Somerset farmland.

Williton Parish Council is co-ordinating the move after seeing its objections to the Elgin Energy plans overruled by planning inspector Cullum Parker.

Mr Parker allowed an appeal by Elgin after Somerset Council’s planning committee resoundingly rejected proposals to site 100 acres of solar panels on Wyndham Estate-owned land close to Tropiquaria zoo, Washford Cross.

Now, councillors in Williton want to meet Watchet Town Council and other local parishes ‘to see if there is anything further we can do’.

Williton chairman Cllr Peter Payne said: “We were obviously extremely disgusted the solar farm was given permission on appeal.

“We will consider what other actions we can take, although what they will be, we do not know.”

Cllr Payne said a letter would go to outgoing Secretary of State Michael Gove so there was ‘something on the Minister’s desk so it cannot be ignored if there is a change of Government’.

He said the council would also liaise with the countryside charity CPRE, which was among the hundreds of objectors to the solar farm.

CPRE planner Fletcher Robinson said: “If the beautiful Washford river valley behind Watchet can be covered with glass, metal, and plastic, then what is to stop the entire countryside being trashed in this way?

“We are hugely disappointed the objections by Historic England, Exmoor National Park, the Quantock Hills National Landscape, Watchet Town Council, parish councils, and other organisations, including ourselves, have been given little weight by the inspector.

“He said harms to the heritage assets were outweighed by the public benefits of powering 7,500 homes by renewable energy, without adding this would be at best for 10 per cent of the time as solar energy production is negligible in winter and non-existent at night.

“We are surprised the inspector accepted the appellant’s findings the site is low grade land, when a report commissioned by the council to review those findings concluded they were insufficiently robust to be relied on for planning purposes.”