A GERMAN green energy giant has won the first round of its battle to build Britain’s biggest solar farm in the Hampshire countryside.

In a shock move, Test Valley councillors went against planning officers’ advice and backed Kronos Solar Projects’ 225,456-panel scheme on a 200-acre site at Eveley Farm, between Broughton and Houghton.

However, the borough’s planning control committee will have the final say.

The proposed solar farm would produce 35Mw of electricity a year, but critics fear that the project, on land owned by Test Valley councillor Danny Busk, would have an unacceptable impact on the area.