Fury at solar farm plan for 'Dibley countryside'

VILLAGERS say their idyllic way of life in the English countryside is being threatened by a huge solar development.

- By Eleanor Burleigh

Plans to build an industrial-scale solar farm on the Oxfordshire landscape immortalised in popular BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley, which starred Dawn French, have met with fierce local opposition.

The Government's drive towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050 has ushered in a boom of renewable energy sites.

There are at least five in the pipeline for approval, including the 100-hectare Botley West site, which would be Europe’s largest.

Despite indicating that developments would predominantly target brownfield and low-quality sites, ministers are having to fend off accusations of ploughing over picturesque English countryside.

Such is the case for villagers in Postcombe, which only has a garage and pub in the way of amenities and is known for its picturesque landscapes, which were most memorably depicted in Richard Curtis’ sitcom.

Each episode of the BBC One comedy began with a sweeping camera shot of the Oxfordshire landscape on each side of the M40, ushering the viewer into its quintessentially English microcosm and eponymous fictional village, actually filmed in nearby Turville.