PLANS for a new 23-hectare solar farm at Cornbury Park will go on display this Friday.

People are being invited to come and have their say on the development, which would involve the installation of about 27,000 solar panels, each over two metres high.

Town councillor and chairman of Sustainable Charlbury, Liz Reason, said: “I think this would be a very good thing for the area, and the more the community engages with it, the better.

“We are suggesting that a certain amount is made available for local people to buy as a co-operative group.

“A similar thing happened with a solar farm in Swindon, where shares were made available to residents.

“It would give everyone the chance to be given empowerment and engage with their community’s efforts to create sustainable energy.”

The farm is being proposed and funded by Kent-based company Alectron Investments.

It has not yet applied for planning permission, but representatives will be on hand to discuss the proposals alongside detailed plans on Friday.

Any energy created would then be fed into the national grid, to be fed to local homes and businesses.

Mrs Reason said: “Basically, a lot of developers are creating farms like this because they can then benefit from a Government scheme to encourage this kind of development. They get a lot of returns from any money they invest into solar farms or wind farms.”

Jon Carpenter, chairman of the Charlbury Business Community and owner of Evenlode Books, said: “I think it is an absolutely brilliant idea.

“I haven’t seen any details about it yet, so I’ll be going to the exhibition on Friday.

“But in principle, I think this is exactly the kind of thing Cornbury Park should be using their land for.”

In their proposal documents, Alectron Investments promises: “Unlike most other forms of development, when the solar farm is no longer used, all the equipment will be removed, and the land returned to its current form.”

It also states there would be very little noise or vibration, commonly associated with wind farms, and would be screened behind existing hedgerows.

The exhibition will be at Charlbury Memorial Hall between 3pm and 7pm.