A 32MW solar farm which partly crosses into Dorset from South Somerset near South Perrott has been given the green light to start.

South Somerset District Council had already approved the scheme, much of which is in their area, with Dorset Council now following suit in also approving the project.

The 54 hectare Elgin Energy development is expected to generate enough power for around 10,000 homes and could be in place for more than 30 years.

The site is to the south and east of Pipplepen Farm, School Hill, bounded by Wood Lane and Pipplepen Lane with the Yeovil-Exeter rail line to the north of the site.

The Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is about a kilometre away and much of the construction traffic is expected to reach the site on Dorset roads.

South Perrott parish council supported the development but asked that all traffic associated with the project accesses the site via the proposed route of the A356 and does not pass through the villages of South Perrott, North Perrott, Mosterton and Misterton.

Dorset councillor Tony Alford (Eggardon Ward) had raised concerns during the consultation about traffic being routed from ten miles away through Maiden Newton for the expected 16-week construction phase.

But Dorset Highway officers said the road is already used by HGVs and large agricultural vehicles and the predicted increase of six additional HGVs per day during the construction period is considered to be a low road safety risk.

The construction access, to the south of the site in Dorset, will see a compacted aggregate road laid – with a condition that it is removed once the solar farm is up and running.

The proposed access will allow for the routing of construction traffic to the site along the A356 avoiding the final approach to the site from Pipplepen Lane which is a relatively narrow road with limited passing places and a height restriction due to a railway bridge.

Network rail have also advised that the construction vehicles should avoid other rail bridges on nearby routes.

The application for the development was submitted in March 2021 with some of the consultation taking place online because of Covid restrictions.

The company claimed a strong level of support for both the generation of renewable energy and contribution to addressing climate change, as a result of their online questionnaire, although the public responses were extremely limited.

Most of the scheme is outside of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and site proposals include extensive landscaping and planting which has been agreed with the AONB team as part of the South Somerset planning approval.