PLANS for a solar farm on land owned by South Dorset MP Richard Drax will be discussed at the High Court today.
An application has been lodged for a judicial review of the decision by East Dorset District Council to grant planning permission for Mapperton Solar Farm.
The review will be held at the High Court in London today.
Lawyers lodged the application on behalf of Katharine Butler, daughter of the diplomat Sir Michael Butler who lived in Mapperton until his death two years ago. She is supported by the Mapperton Preservation Group and Dorset CPRE.
In a joint statement they said: "We believe we have a strong case, and are optimistic about the outcome."
The application by firm Good Energy was originally given the green light by the district council's planning committee two years ago, but this was later overturned. A revised application - with panels over 110 acres rather than 175 - was approved in July last year.
Although there were more than 650 objections, with campaigners saying the plans would affect a protected landscape, East Dorset District Council ruled that proposal would “contribute significantly to the UK’s target of 15 per cent of its energy generation from renewables by 2020”.
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