Asked about the fate of the estate’s tenant farmers, Dominic Hare, chief executive of Blenheim Estates, said arable cropping would cease: “We will begin to look after the land more carefully as it recovers and improves under the panels.”

Those claims are rejected by Professor Alex Rogers, chair of community group Stop Botley West, who says taking so much land away from food production would be disastrous. “We estimate that around 8,000 tonnes of food will be removed from the country’s food supply each year, making a total of 366,000 tonnes of food lost over the 42-year expected lifespan of the solar panels.”

Solar farms in idyllic rural settings can destroy both businesses and landscapes. In Cornwall, the hundreds of objections lodged against a 210-acre solar farm planned at Carland Cross, near Newquayincludes one from a luxury wedding venue now facing closure.

“We will have 12 months of noise and dust during the construction phase, making the venue unrentable,” wrote Kenneth Evans, owner of Hendra Barns, adding that a luxury wedding and vacation venue recently surrounded for an industrial solar farm to remain standing. viable.

“No one seems to care”

Industry trade body Solar Energy UK says developments on farmland are essential for the UK to meet its renewable energy targets.

Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK, says: “Responsible solar developers will always encourage parties with whom they lease land to handle leasing matters sensitively, but ultimately this legal and commercial relationship is entirely the responsibility of the developer. owner of the land. .”

So who can protect tenant farmers? The National Farmers Union (NFU) has been criticized for doing little: critics say that although its members include tenant farmers, its governing council is dominated by those who own their own land.

Tom Bradshaw, president of the NFU, says solar farms should be developed on low-quality agricultural land wherever possible, but adds: “Renewable energy production is a central part of the NFU’s net zero emissions plan and the “Solar projects can offer a good diversification option for farmers.”

This week the Government offered some hope when it announced plans to create a commissioner for the tenant farming sector.

“Positive relationships between tenants, landlords and advisors are essential for a fair and sustainable sector,” said Daniel Zeichner, Minister of Rural Affairs.

But hidden in the fine print it made clear that the commissioner will have no legal powers and will not be able to impose sanctions or publicly identify wrongdoing.

For many tenant farmers, the protection of a toothless guard dog is no protection at all. Many fear that speaking out against solar developments will prompt their landlords to shorten their leases.

One of them, whose family has farmed 150 acres in central Cornwall with cattle, sheep and arable crops for three generations, said: “My grandfather started this farm and my father was born on our farm where I grew up, and my son, too. .

“Now my owners have told me they wanted to put 150 acres under solar panels, and there’s nothing I can do about it. My house is part of the farm, so I could lose that too.

“We have no idea what to do or where to go. And no one seems to care.”