It was also deemed that the solar farm posed genuine dangers to life because panels were planned directly inside emergency landing zones at London Oxford Airport and trainee pilots rely on these if their engine fails just after takeoff.
The government also found the bright solar glare could blind student pilots flying nearby circuits, rising heat waves from panels could destabilise aircraft, and the developer failed to sign a binding agreement to stop birds flocking to the site and causing bird strikes.
Concerns were also raised about covering up vital countryside with more than 300 hectares of the UK’s highest-grade agricultural land covered in panels and lost to crop farming for around 40 years.
