Solar farm decision delayed for site visit

Committee members decided to defer the choice for a site visit, despite officers recommending it for approval

A decision on plans to build a large solar farm has been delayed amid concerns it will impact a "much treasured landscape".

Cherwell district councillors had been set to make the call on the Padbury Brook development, earmarked for Stratton Audley near Bicester, at their latest planning meeting.

But committee members decided to defer the choice for a site visit, despite officers recommending it for approval.

The application seeks consent for a 44-megawatt station, with a number of solar panels set out in rows.

It would cover several fields in the open countryside, measuring about 59.4 hectares (147 acres).

An objection from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said it "should only proceed if it can be demonstrated that it has public support from those communities that are most impacted from the development".

It said it believed solar panels on buildings or on structures on brownfield sites provide alternative sources of energy "without the harmful impacts that emanate from the establishment of solar panels on greenfield sites".

The solar farm would cover fields near Stratton Audley

But a supporter, Jo Adams, of Lower Boddington, said: "I used to live in a neighbouring village, and I am pleased to support this modern project.

"I appreciate that some people will try to make a case against this development, but I feel that the positives of this project by far out number any negatives that people may think of (ie. that it is in the wrong location)."

She said the project could make a "significant contribution towards net zero," make a "real contribution towards managing wholesale electricity prices" and bring biodiversity benefits.

An applicant planning paper said: "It has grown increasingly imperative for the UK to identify an affordable and consistent energy supply, for the utilisation of both current and future populations."

Plans for another solar farm in Oxfordshire have recently been met with objections.

The 1,000-hectare (2,471-acre) Botley West Solar Farm would cover sites near Botley, Kidlington and Woodstock.