A display of people power has ended in disappointment as the casting vote of a committee chairman has condemned a village near Alton to be surrounded on three sides by a massive solar farm for the next 40 years.

Protesters holding placards gathered at the Harlington Centre in Fleet in the hope that Hart District Council would reject plans by Fleet Solar Ltd for a 259-acre solar farm in Long Sutton.

But despite around 70 in attendance and HDC receiving 186 written letters of objection, the council’s development management committee approved the scheme by five votes to four.

Richard Lea, a Long Sutton resident, said: “Despite a large attendance of vocal villagers and our strong objections, the initial planning vote was 4-4.

“The committee chair Cllr Graham Cockarill then followed his planning officer’s advice and cast his deciding vote to make it 5-4 in favour.

“Long Sutton has now been sacrificed to HDC’s ‘climate change emergency’ stance and having no current solar energy target, which could lead them to refuse unsuitable solar schemes on green fields. They now appear open to all solar applications!”

Objections against the scheme, which will see 136 acres covered in solar panels, were led by Cllr Chris Dorn, who represents Odiham on HDC, with support from Upton Grey, South Warnborough and Greywell parish councils.

Mr Lea added: “Our main objections were sheer size, leading to an industrialised landscape with CCTV cameras at 50-metre intervals, ruining the visual aspects north and south of the village, enclosing popular footpaths within chainlink fencing, and being hugely detrimental to local ecology and barn owl nesting habitats.”

The 47.9mw capacity solar farm that will power 18,600 homes will be built on agricultural land at White Hill - east and west of Long Lane, south of Hayley Lane and south of Ford Lane.