MONMOUTHSHIRE councillors have approved to fund £350,000 into a controversial plan for a solar farm near Caldicot.

The debate on whether the council should build a 22,660 solar panel farm on land at Oak Grove Farm in Crick became heated at a full council meeting on Thursday, in which 20 councillors approved the business case while three were against and three abstained from the vote.

The council said it would generate £1,500 from the land each year and an income of £60,000 a year, but cllr Graham Down, member for Shirenewton, called the scheme 'obscene.'

He said "schemes such as this are funded by tax payers with increases in electricity charges".

It would cost £5 more per household a week, he added.

He said: "Just because something makes money doesn't mean we should do it. Remember our morals for a minute.

"This is anti-Robin Hood. Taking from the poor to give to the rich."

The council said the farm would generate enough power for about 4,000 homes and that it would save 2,395 tonnes of C02 emissions every year.

The funding of £350,000 would be used to start work on the farm’s connection to the National Grid. Based on the UK Government’s current Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme the council would stand to make £2.353 million over 20 years.

Cllr Bob Greenland, deputy leader, said: "This is a scheme I believe and officers believe is a good scheme to take forward.

"I cautiously estimate that the income would be in excess of £60,000. That is £60,000 worth of costs we do not have to cut from front line services."

But cllr Bob Hayward, member for Dixton with Osbaston, also said it was "morally unjust".

"We are here to provide a service not to make money out of people who have got to pay taxes," he added.

Cllr Greenland argued that the council is in the business of making money due to cuts in public funding.

Monmouthshire council would be only one of a select group of local authorities who run their own solar farm.

Money would be taken from the scheme for Monmouthshire community projects. This would last for 20 years and total £5,000 a year.

The plans are estimated to go before the council’s planning committee in September.