THE public inquiry to decide the fate of the proposed 67-hectare solar farm on the former Wroughton Airfield gets underway today.

Due to be located at the former Wroughton Airfield, the project is a joint venture between Swindon Commercial Services and the Science Museum.

If approved, it would provide power to 12,000 homes utilising 150,000 solar panels, making it one of the largest of its kind in the UK.

The proposal was given approval by the council last year and has strong local support, but the Planning Inspector has raised concerns because of the impact the solar farm will have on the North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The inquiry, which will run over six days, will start at 10am at the civic offices.

Those behind the scheme are still confident that it will be given the go ahead and bring a huge benefit to Wroughton and the surrounding area.

Resident Steve Harcourt was among those in favour when the scheme was initially granted permission and remains behind it.

He said: “My position since that first decision has not really changed and I am still very supportive of the proposal, and a lot of the people I speak with feel the same.”

However, a spokesman from the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty group which manages the area, said the plan would have an “industrialising impact” on the downs.