More than 15,000 solar panels could be installed in the Somerset green belt.

GS Vogt Limited is drawing up fresh plans for a solar farm as big as 16 football pitches at Howgrove Farm near Nempnett Thrubwell after a 2014 bid was rejected.

Bath and North East Somerset Council said the previous proposals by Green Switch Developments Ltd would have had a significant impact on the rural character of the area and represented inappropriate development in the green belt.

The developer's appeal was dismissed by the planning inspectorate and that decision upheld by the secretary of state.

GS Vogt Limited is still drafting its application but said the solar panels could generate 9.1megawatts of electricity, nearly double the output of the Green Switch scheme.

Asking if it would need to submit an environmental statement, the firm's representatives said: "The applicant has worked with farmers and landowners to identify potential sites for solar development throughout the UK.

"All potential sites are screened against a range of common constraints and only those considered to be as close to being 'constraint-free', within a sufficiently viable distance from a grid connection and suitable for the nature of the proposed development have been entered into the planning process.

"The proposed development comprises the erection of a solar farm with the potential output of 9.1MW of electricity and associated works, including substations, inverter housing, access tracks, security fencing and cameras."

If approved, the 15,834 solar panels will be in place for 25 years, then either removed or kept in place, subject to a further planning application.

B&NES Council has not yet assessed the merits of the proposals but said the site is not in a sensitive area and the anticipated issues are "unlikely to be of more than local importance".