A HUGE swathe of farmland near Oxford is set to be turned into a solar farm.
The owners of 12 Acre Farm just west of Eynsham have revealed plans for a 140-acre plant on their land.
The site in question is just south of the A40.
Submitting an outline of their scheme to West Oxfordshire District Council, the farm owners said their photovoltaic panels would generate up to 49.9 megawatts peak (MWp) of electricity - enough to supply about 19,960 homes.
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Land meant for allotments could become housingAddressing the potential environmental impacts of the scheme, the farmers stressed to planning officers that the land in question was not covered by any international or national designations around wildlife or cultural heritage.
The closest significant structure, they said, is the Grade II-listed Twelve Acre Farm main house.
They also pointed out that the West Oxfordshire District Council Local Plan 2031 'contains a specific policy for renewable energy development... which states that in principle renewable energy developments will be supported'.
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Council leader hopes to save 300-year-old treeThe farm owners have laid out their proposals in a 'screening opinion' application to the council, which seeks to establish if they will need to carry out a full Environmental Impact Assessment before moving forward.
Members of public can find the full plans on the district council's website publicaccess.westoxon.gov.uk using application reference code 19/01409/SCREEN.
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