West Lothian solar farm approved by council

There were 77 objections to the proposal.

Jenny Mcdonagh, who lives in Canal Court which will overlook the solar farm, said she is “gutted” by the plans.

She told the committee: “This is an industrial estate just metres from my home.

“It sets a terrible precedent for rural villages – that they don’t matter, it’s only a few houses.”

Mrs Mcdonagh also criticised the consultation process.

She claimed that it was not widely advertised and the online portal was difficult to navigate.

She added that the company behind the construction proposals, Ampyr Solar Europ, had shown misleading pictures of sheep grazing among panels the same height as them but the panels will actually be 3m tall.

She said: “It’s not okay to push something of this magnitude through planning without taking real time to consider the long-term impact on residents.”

A representative from Ampyr Solar said that they had consulted broadly with the community and had made changes after the consultation.

The chair of the local community council said that the plans had created the biggest upset in the area in years.