A TOWN council's view on a rejected solar farm plan remains unchanged following a revised application.

Bentham Town Council has recommended the proposal for refusal despite the planned energy site having almost halved.

The Spanish company Tau Solar Ltd is behind the Low Bentham plans and said the photovoltaic array would provide energy for around 1,050 homes and compared to the 1,375 homes in the original submission.

In June Craven councillors visited the site at Ravens Close Brow before going against officer advice and refusing permission on the grounds of its visual impact.

After a town council meeting, clerk Jo Burton said: "The council came up with the same objections - the visual impact (the development would have) in the are and the fact that the solar farm company is asking for a very limited 30 year period."

As well as the visible affect on the landscape, Ms Burton said the council was concerned that there would also be high fencing, container sized buildings and the potential for lighting at night.

The revised site has been reduced from 6.7 hectares from 10.8 and it set to generate 3.8 Mega Watts at its peak, compared to the original 5MW.

Although the site is almost half the original size, the development consists of 15,000 panels - just 5,000 fewer than the previously refused scheme.

"It's an undulating site and fairly visible from places like Ingleborough," added Ms Burton. "The general consensus is there are other places that are better than green fields such as brownfield sites or somewhere less visible."

MORE TOP STORIES: In the meantime, Ms Burton said the company is appealing the district council's decision to refuse the original plan.

She added the council feared Tau Solar Ltd would not be enforced to return the area to agricultural status after its 30 year period, adding Craven District Council said it would 'cost too much'.

"What happens at the end?" she said. "Do we end up with a field of dead machinery?"

The consultation period ends on August 27.