Solar farm community cash offer 'beggars belief'

The government is currently considering the Botley West Solar Farm plans

A solar farm developer's community fund offer "beggars belief" and should be far more, local groups have said.

Photovolt Development Partners (PVPD) has offered £441,000 per year to local community groups located nearby the proposed 1,000 hectare (2,471 acre) farm.

Sustainable Woodstock said the annual payment should be around £4.2m, citing a government white paper suggesting developers could pay communities £5,000 per megawatt (MW) per year.

PVPD said it was committed to ensuring "the project delivers real, lasting benefits where they are most needed".

Colin Carritt, a former Town Mayor of Woodstock, said: "It beggars belief that... our communities should walk away from this once in a generation opportunity to secure a substantial cash settlement.

"Accepting the £441,000 per annum over the 40 year lifetime of this project would mean that £150m of benefits would be lost to communities."

He added that accepting the offer would also "damage the attitude and acceptance towards these and future developments".

Hilary Brown from Sustainable Woodstock said: "It is alarming to hear that a mere £441,000 a year is a reportedly satisfactory amount for Oxfordshire's communities, when they might expect £4m a year or more."

The MP for Bicester and Woodstock, Calum Miller, said he was "disappointed" with PVPD's engagement with local groups and was pressing the firm on the issue.

"The offer they've made is well below the one the government's recently consulted on," he said.

"There has to be a real benefit to local communities so people can see why nationally significant projects are taking place on their doorstep."

Campaigners say the solar farm would be an "ocean of glass and steel" across the Oxfordshire countryside

But Richard Devereux-Cooke, chair of a group of local parish councils, said the total was a "reasonable" amount for a community benefit fund.

"But that depends on whether or not the project goes ahead, and if the developer chooses to pay anything at all," he said.

Oxfordshire County Council said it "shared local frustrations" that community benefit was not a statutory requirement for solar farms.

"Although we have done our best to get the most benefit for the community, we cannot force the developer to provide any specific amount of funding," it said.

"In the end, it is the developer who makes the final decision."

West Oxfordshire District Council said it was working on getting community groups the "best deal possible".

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to make a final decision on Botley West in 2026.

In a statement PVPD said the £441,000 commitment had been made "on an entirely voluntary basis".

"This fund will be made available in addition to roughly £1.6m per year generated in business rates, at least half of which will be received by relevant local authorities," it said.

"This means that, in all, at least £49.64m will be directly invested in the local area over the solar farm's lifespan, as a result of the project."