Last chance to have your say on the Botley West Solar Farm

If you felt that you weren’t heard by the developers during their consultations on the Botley West Solar Farm, you still have an opportunity to tell the Inspectorate what you think. But they will only listen to interested parties, so please do make sure you register before the deadline on 27th February.

The mega solar farm at Botley West threatens 10km2 of agricultural land, almost entirely within the Oxford Green Belt, and industrialising this rural area.  This is despite experts saying only 1% of Oxfordshire’s land is needed to meet climate commitments, meaning that there is scope to be selective about where development is located.

Anyone can register: individuals, groups, organisations and businesses from the local area or anywhere in the UK and we would encourage you to do so. For further advice on how to register, take a look at the Government’s Advice Page.

The SBW website is a good resource to find out more about the proposals and how to respond to them.

CPRE Oxfordshire will be registering to voice our key concerns which are:

• Impact on landscape
• Impact on heritage
• Loss of best and most versatile land
• Ecology and biodiversity loss
• Impact on rights of way
• Impacts on flooding in the local area, especially around Cassington.

We have submitted our relevant representation which you can find in our resources.

While we support the transition to renewable energy, it mustn’t come at the expense of irreplaceable wildlife habitat and our rural communities. CPRE Oxfordshire continues to call for a county-wide strategy, to ensure we get what is needed quickly and in the most appropriate and least damaging locations, prioritising brownfield sites and rooftop renewables.