Applications submitted for two solar farms in Cumnor parish

It follows concern after applications for two giant solar farms were submitted in the same parish, in consecutive months.

Both applications were put forward to Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC), in the Cumnor parish.

The first application, for a 30-hectare farm on the south-facing slope of Cumnor Hill, was found not to require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

However, the second application – for a 95-hectare farm to the west of Red House Farm in Botley – was found to require an EIA.

An aerial view showing where the applications have been submitted. Picture: Cumnor Parish Council/ Google Maps

The Government website states that the aim of an EIA is to ‘protect the environment’ and only apply to a ‘small proportion of projects’.

Cumnor parish councillor Chris Westcott said there has been a surge in applications for solar farms nationally but alternatives such as wind farms should be sought.

“Covid has shown that people need their green spaces – they used them during the lockdowns and throughout the pandemic,” he said.

“There does seem to be a tidal wave of applications for solar farms, it’s difficult to find a place in England where applications aren’t popping up.

“It’s about preserving the views of Oxford and the views from Oxford, which have been like that for hundreds of years.

“Residents have said we’re not exactly a sunny climate, yet there’s enormous potential for offshore wind in the UK.

“We want to encourage solar with tiles on the roofs of new buildings, and schools too.”

Read also: Oxford solar farm plan dismays Oxford Preservation Trust

In a cover letter sent to VWHDC, the applicant for the initial application, Cumnor Solar Farm Limited, sought an EIA screening opinion from the council, prior to the submission of a planning application.

The letter states that the proposed development, which borders the playing fields at Oxford Brookes University’s Harcourt Hill campus, will ‘utilise natural resources to generate clean green renewable energy’.

Outlining why the EIA was not required, VWHDC’s head of planning Adrian Duffield wrote: “The site is not within a sensitive area.

“Having regard to the characteristics of the development, it is not considered that there is potential for significant environmental effects.

“The local planning authority is of the opinion that the submission of an Environmental Statement in connection with this development at this time is not required.

“The local planning authority has taken into account the size and nature of the proposed development, the location of the potential development site and the likely impact of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area.”

However, in a consultee comment, the Oxford Preservation Trust said: “The site is in a prominent position within the western hills of Oxford, which have inspired poets and artists across the ages.

“We are very concerned to see the applicants looking to locate development in such a sensitive location which could cause substantial harm on the fragile views of the dreaming spires which are an internationally recognised symbol of the city.”

Read more: Oxford could get 159 new electric buses

If approved, the second application, west of Botley, will operate for a temporary period of 40 years.

On this occasion, the district council found the submission of an Environmental Statement was required.

A decision notice, dated February 22, read: “The site is not a ‘sensitive area’ as defined within the EIA regulation, but is in close proximity to Wytham Woods SSSI [Site of Special Scientific Interest] and priority habitats. The site is within the Oxford Green Belt.

“The character and appearance of the site will change substantially across a large area, visible across long-reaching and elevated views, which in environmental terms will have a significant visual and character impact, and is likely to significantly affect the wider landscape character.”

A letter from the applicant’s (Red House Solar Limited) agent claimed an EIA wasn’t required, saying the ‘potential environmental effects are essentially localised’.

The letter read: “Solar energy is a renewable source of energy, it is fully sustainable and totally inexhaustible.

“It is a non-polluting source of energy and can make a significant contribution to both the Vale of White Horse District Council and the national carbon reduction targets, with no adverse effect on the environment.

“The potential environmental effects are essentially localised, minor in nature and do not require an EIA.”

Cumnor Parish Council requested an EIA be sought on the grounds that the proposed site is 100m from the Farmoor Reservoir and within 150m of Wytham Woods SSSI.

On the situation surrounding solar farm applications across Oxfordshire, Oxford Preservation Trust director Debbie Dance said: “With the very extensive housebuilding programmes planned, our area’s green energy is being promoted.

“We support this, but regret that the infrastructure needed to facilitate these new places has not been planned and comes as an afterthought.

“There is no overarching strategy for what is needed or where it should go, so that as solar farm applications come forward, which on the face of it is to be welcomed, the councils are being caught off guard.”

The applications can be viewed on the VWHDC planning portal, using the reference numbers P21/V3288/SCR and P22/V0144/SCR.

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