Plans for a large solar farm have been approved by a government planning inspector.

The Sheepwash Solar Farm will cover 184 acres at Eckley Farm, near Marden.

Maidstone council had rejected the application from Statkraft Ltd but the firm appealed the decision.

It did make some concessions to get the scheme through.

The solar farm will be slightly smaller than first envisaged, supplying an output of 47MW instead of 49.9MW.

Also, the electricity substation, which may generate some noise, has been moved farther away from nearby homes.

Inspector Philip Major agreed with the council the solar farm would cause some harm to the landscape character, but said it would be limited and would diminish as hedgerows and trees planted in mitigation matured.

He did not accept that there would be any substantial harm to the settings of nearby listed buildings, and he found that the new hedgerows and trees would result in a biodiversity net gain.

Although some of the solar farm will cover farmland categorised as “best and most versatile”, it was a limited amount, and in any case there were no planning policies to say a solar farm could not be built on the best and most versatile land.

In addition, the applicants say the solar farm has a life of 37 years, after which the land will be returned to agriculture.

The inspector accepted the site would be subject to a risk of flooding – as it is now – but did not agree that the construction of the solar farm was likely to increase flooding elsewhere.

He said there was an overriding need to provide sources of renewable energy that had to be considered.

Mr Major said: “There has been considerable opposition to the scheme from local people, which I acknowledge and do not take lightly.

“It was argued that this was the wrong development in the wrong place.

“I respectfully disagree.

“The nearest residents were ably represented at the inquiry with cogent and structured representations, and I have taken them fully into account along with all other submissions.”

Nevertheless, he approved the scheme.

The inspector’s report can be seen here.

Vickey Petrie, one of the Marden residents who had campaigned against the plan, said: “It is a massive disappointment and we are still trying to digest the news.

“It does seem that there is nothing that can be done now.”