Campaigners against a proposed supersized solar farm condemned the recent public consultation as “disturbingly inadequate” after they conducted their own survey of over 1,000 affected households.

Stop Botley West (SBW) community group is calling on the developers of the 3,400-acre Botley West solar power station, PhotoVolt Development Partners (PVDP), to organise a fresh consultation process.

Botley West, which would cover three sites near Botley, Kidlington and Woodstock owned by Blenheim is one of the largest Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) proposed in the country.

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Stop Botley West is urging West Oxfordshire District Council and prospective parliamentary candidates to support its call after a survey of more than 1,400 local households "revealed major flaws in the original consultation", it said.

Visualisation of proposed solar farm  (Image: PVDP)

SBW has just submitted its own adequacy of consultation (AOC) report to the developers and the council.

It said this "highlights a number of significant deviations from relevant planning regulations and accepted consultation principles" regarding the public consultation which ran from December 2023 to February this year.

These include not setting up consultation meetings in some of the important affected villages including Wootton, Tackley and Combe.

It also failed to provide sufficient information or technical experts for meaningful consultations and to provide adequate access to information and events.

Accessible information, maps and photomontages were not of adequate quality and a master index or search facility to help the public find relevant information in the many volumes of information was not provided, they said. 

Professor Alex Rogers, chair of SBW, described the consultation process, which started in the run-up to Christmas, as “triggering emotions ranging from concern and frustration to anger and tears".

He said: “As PVDP’s proposal raises many serious and long-term concerns about vital issues including loss of green belt, productive arable land and damage to biodiversity, it is vital that the developer carries out its statutory duty to organise an accessible, informative and accurate consultation process.

“The independently assessed results of our survey of more than 1,400 affected households show that the previous consultation was disturbingly inadequate,” said Professor Rogers.

“We urge WODC and the area’s prospective parliamentary candidates to demand that PVDP organises a new and effective consultation process in line with established standards and the requirements of the Planning Inspectorate.”

The project will require PVDP to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

PVDP said its DCO application will be made this summer, probably in July.

A decision is not expected until early 2025 with construction anticipated to begin that summer.

Stop Botley West protest outside WODC meeting where solar farm was debated (Image: SBW)

At the same time PVDP submits the DCO application, West Oxfordshire District Council, incorporating Stop Botley West's findings, will submit their adequacy of consultation report.

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PVDP said its consultation was agreed in full with the relevant local planning authorities "and completely in line with all relevant planning regulations and principles as set out by the Planning Act 2008".

All locations of meetings were also agreed with the local planning authorities.

A spokesperson said: "While it was simply not feasible for all technical specialists at once to attend all events, any questions directed to the project inbox were answered by the appropriate technical specialist.

"As we have previously confirmed, all Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) viewpoint visualisations for the process were accurate, objective, and agreed by the LPAs, with photographs and photomontages produced in accordance with the LVIA industry code of practice.

"Every chapter of our Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) includes a clear index and is individually downloadable for improved accessibility.

"The PEIR is publicly available online and physical copies were provided and explained in-depth by the developers at our in-person meetings."

PVDP said it is wrong to characterise the land in question as “productive arable land”.

"Overall, the land is mostly poor, categorised as Grade 3b, which has suffered from intensive farming techniques over many years.

"Farmers are struggling to produce sufficient yield to remain financially viable.

"The project will produce a minimum 70 per cent biodiversity net gain, protecting and restoring habitats, protecting pollinators and allow the land to recover."