Hampshire woman spends £100k to fight against solar farm

According to the Daily Mail, Chala Fiske was close to bankruptcy after spending £100,000 of her own money to fight the local council all the way to the Court of Appeal to prevent a solar panel project from going ahead.

The solar farm was set to be built on the land of the historic settlement in East Wellow, Hampshire.

The development, approved by Test Valley Borough Council, would include more than 80,000 ground-mounted solar panels and an electricity substation.

The 78-year-old woman, who has been living in a village next to the proposed plans since 1982, was against the plans because she believes the farmland would be better used producing food.

Mrs Fiske told the Daily Mail: “The problem I had with it is this country can’t provide its own food. […] If we have the war, and we’re close to a war, we just won’t be able to do anything.

“We know we can’t even fight a war, so food security on an island is very very important, it really is.

“I’m not against the solar farm so much, I’m against it because it’s on good land.”

Long-awaited victory

Mrs Fiske successfully challenged the council in the High Court in 2023, when a judge ruled that proposed amendments to Woodington Solar Farm were not compatible with planning conditions that had been put in place in 2017.

The council lost their appeal against this judgement on 10th December 2024, the media outlet confirmed.

Mrs Fiske added that she is happy with the victory, however, she cannot share it with her husband, Anthony, as he died in April, before a verdict was reached.

A Test Valley Borough Council spokesperson told Daily Mail: “The council is currently considering the judgement of the Court of Appeal in the case of Test Valley Council vs Fiske, which relates to the construction of a solar farm at Woodington, East Wellow, before deciding what next steps need to be taken.”

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