PLANS to create solar farms at two sites in Cumbria have been unveiled to the public.

Spanish eco-company OPDE held a public consultation meeting at Whittington Parish Hall to alert residents to their proposed 11.5 hectare development of a £5 million farm close to the village.

While a German-based company has set its sights on creating a 25-acre solar park on land between carriageways on the M6, extending north from Tebay Services, in plans presented to Orton Parish Council.

OPDE, which already has three solar farms in the south of England, claims it will generate enough power to supply 1,375 homes and would save 89,100 tonnes of CO2.

Formal plans will be discussed at a meeting of Whittington Parish Council in the coming weeks. The council can recommend the plans be accepted or refused but the ultimate decision is made by South Lakeland District Council.

Alexander Miejimolle, project manager at OPDE, said there was a great capacity for energy generation in this area.

"The field is quite far from any dwelling so no dwelling will have a view of it," he said. "The country needs to comply with its targets for renewable energy and this is an opportunity for that."

All the energy generated from the site will go into the national grid and not directly to local properties.

However, some residents are less than enthused by the possibility of having a solar farm in their village.

Sue Kimber, who owns a large amount of land in Whittington, said: "I'm very opposed to it because I feel that we live in a beautiful area from a setting point of view. I've seen them elsewhere and they're a blight on the landscape."

Michael Hall, chairman of Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale, said he thinks the plans are 'borderline' because the landscape would be 'visually impacted upon'.

He said: "We've been fighting windfarms for 15 years and I'm not overly enamoured with having finally seen the back of windfarms to get applications in for solar farms although this development may be well located in the sense that it's not that obvious."

Meanwhile, Orton Parish Council noted that vast areas of photovoltaic panels would be 'intrusive' in the environmentally sensitive landscape and visible for great distances from the Lake District National Park as well as the proposed extended Yorkshire Dales National Park.

In a report, the council said: "It is considered that a 25-acre solar farm would industrialise the landscape of our parish.

"The visual effect on traffic approaching, particularly from the south, would detract from the natural beauty of the Cumbrian landscape and deter visitors, potential residents and business.

The proposal, which is believed would not bring any new jobs to the area, has not yet been submitted to Eden District Council.