WODC submits response to Botley West based on 'forensic' impact report

On Monday 2nd June 2025 West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) Development Control Committee (DCC) debated the Council’s response to the Botley West Solar Farm Development (BWSF).

Botley West is a proposal to build one of the largest solar farms in Europe on 1300 hectares of land mainly located in West Oxfordshire. The National Strategic Planning Inspectorate (NSIP) and the Secretary of State are now in the process of deciding on this. While Local Authorities have no control here they are, including West Oxfordshire District Council, key consultees.

Over the last two years, WODC officers and associated experts have researched and assessed the impact that this development would have on the landscape, natural environment, flooding, heritage and the local communities and have created a 180 page Local Impact Report.

This comprehensive report looks at each proposed solar panel land parcel and assigns an impact severity in the categories of: Historic Environment; Landscape and Visual Impact; Ecology and Nature Conservation; Hydrology and Flood Risk; and Agricultural Land.

WODC will submit this report to NSIP as a joint document along with other local Councils: Cherwell DC, Vale of the White Horse on Oxford CC and will also be submitting a ‘Written Representation’ (WR) to NISP, which expresses the Council’s views on the proposal based on the evidence in this report.

In this it makes clear that it supports the development of renewable energy schemes, but “owing to the range and magnitude of detrimental impacts likely to arise from these [BWSF] proposals in their current form, West Oxfordshire District Council objects to the proposals as currently framed”. The Council also expresses its frustration with a lack of meaningful engagement by the developer, PVDP, to address the issues arising.

Finally, it advocates that land parcels whose development would have the highest detrimental impact are removed from the proposal while indicating the areas that the Council believes could accommodate some solar panels.

The Development Control Committee (DCC) unanimously endorsed the officers’ conclusions and recommendations and agreed to request that it be drastically reduced to minimise the substantial harmful impacts.

The report and associated proposals have been praised and supported by related campaign groups, who note that the WODC administration has delivered on their commitment to undertake a thorough comprehensive analysis of the proposal and to base their position on this.