Botley West Solar Farm: West Oxfordshire District Council has 'little influence'

The developer behind Botley West Solar Farm said it could produce up to 840MW of electricity

A district council leader has said he is frustrated by how "little influence" his authority has on proposals for a large solar farm in the area.

Botley West Solar Farm could span three sites north of Woodstock, west of Kidlington, and west of Botley.

Andy Graham, head of West Oxfordshire District Council, said the local planning process was being bypassed.

Developer Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) said it was committed to further engagement with the council.

It said the solar farm, which would be built on 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) of land, could power up to 330,000 homes.

The scheme will be decided by the government via the Planning Inspectorate, though it was discussed at a full district council meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Graham said: "Unfortunately and disappointingly, this proposal will bypass the local planning process and therefore we have little influence on the decision when it is made.

"We have previously expressed our frustration with this approach as we feel it limits the input from local residents."

One of the three sites would be west of Kidlington

He said the council's role would be to "provide feedback on how the proposal will impact the local area and communities".

He added that there were "strong feelings" about the solar farm but it was waiting for "detailed and robust impact assessments".

But he said the authority would "remain neutral" until the full plans were published so it was "not seen to be biased before having all the facts".

The developer has said it will issue its "Phase Two" consultation, with more detailed design proposals, in the spring.

If it gets the go-ahead from the secretary of state, building is expected to start in the summer of 2025.

Speaking after the meeting, Rosemary Lewis, from the Stop Botley West campaign group, said: "We obviously hope that [the council] will come to the same conclusion that we've come to; that this is the wrong place, the wrong time, for this solar farm."

PVDP said it had "undertaken regular and constructive engagement" with the council and key stakeholders since the launch of the project.

It said: "The project team has appreciated this collaborative approach and is committed to further engagement with the authority as the project progresses."

It added: "Local people are a vital part of the process as we refine the proposals for Botley West... [they] will get a further opportunity to provide their views on the project at our second stage of community consultation."

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