Plan for anaerobic digester in village near Witney refused

There were 243 objections to the application by Acorn Bioenergy for an anaerobic digester plant in South Leigh near Witney which only has 340 residents.

West Oxfordshire District Council senior planning officer's recommendation to refuse the application was carried unanimously at the Lowlands Planning sub-committee meeting yesterday.

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Members agreed that “the proposed development, by virtue of its use, processes, design, scale, massing, materials and siting would introduce a significant industrial development into this open countryside location”. 

Dan Levy, county councillor and district councillor for the area, said: “Until the new Shores Green junction is built and technically it’s had its planning application withheld and we’ll look at the issues again shortly, probably, tractors would have to go all the way to Eynsham and back to access the site and construction traffic will have to do the same."

He said the A40 is already “as all of us know is completely congested” and the officer’s report highlighted a number of areas where the application did not align with the local plan or South Leigh’s neighbourhood plan.

“This is an industrial plant in a rural setting. It removes the character of the green space between High Cogges and Witney," he said.

He added: "Having tanks of inflammable gas next to a busy road is unwise. There was a lightning strike on the one at Cassington recently. Luckily no one was injured which is great but putting something like that next to a main road perhaps we wouldn’t be so lucky in the future.

"My understanding is the Health and Safety Executive have yet to report on what happened at Cassington and when they do I’m sure it will inform the planning application."

He said anyone who was thinking about approving the application "should perhaps wait for that report".

Lysette Nicholls, vice-chair of South Leigh parish council, told the meeting they feel "there needs to be some community protection over the whole district as in this instance South Leigh and High Cogges has already supported planning for a large solar farm in the parish and another adjacent to it.

“We recognise there is a climate emergency but we also have to protect our green spaces and villages. It needs to be balanced.”

Martin Spurrier was one of 20 South Leigh residents who attended the meeting.

He said the proposed digester “is expected to bring 25,000 HGVs or tractor trailer movements  in and out of the plant by the already congested A40 and our quiet narrow roads each year”.

“To put it in context one of these juggernauts would not fit into this room, it would stick out into the car park by two or three metres.

"This application on a greenfield site tramples over the NPPF, the local plan and our neighbourhood plan."

Another resident David Hindley said the plant would be within 230 metres of his and some of his neighbours’ homes.

Following Cassington we now know it’s “not only noxious but potentially lethal”, he said.

Daniel Lambert for Acorn Bioenergy argued the plant would create 15 jobs and since the recommendation for refusal Oxfordshire County Council highways had verbally dropped their objection - which planning officers said was unconfirmed.

He said Acorn are providing significant landscape improvements and are happy to provide even more planting if requested by members.

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He said the application will help to fight climate change as well as provide vital economic activity.

Green Party councillor Andrew Prosser said: "The key concern is the location of this plant. I am really concerned about locating this on the A40. Everyone knows about the transport issues. The location is not a great one in terms of sustainability.”

Conservative Nick Leverton added: “I think what you can’t ignore is that it’s a village, it’s very close to a village and if we allow this then we’ve set a precedent and very soon we could have an industrial estate with some old houses on it.

"It’s unacceptable, it shouldn’t even be thought about.”