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General feedback to your Members of Parliament
Those living in the new Bicester & Woodstock constituency:
Please write to your new MP, Calum Miller expressing all your concerns about the BWSF proposals and calling on him to work on our behalf to fight PVDP’s application. Email: calum.miller@oxonlibdems.uk
Those living in the Oxford West & Abingdon constituency:
Please write to your re-elected MP, Layla Moran reminding her of your concerns about BWSF especially in relation to the possible links to Russian money and concern about the individuals behind PVDP and calling on her to work on our behalf to fight PVDP’s application. layla.moran.mp@parliament.uk
We have just learnt that TODAY (Saturday 13 July), and on some other days in the next 2 months, there are likely to be people on popular walking routes in the area who might ask you if you would answer some questions about your walk.
They have been commissioned by the developer PVDP to find out how often the paths are used, by how many, and where people come from to walk them.
It would be great if as many people as possible responded to the survey, to show how popular and important these paths are.
They are likely to repeat this exercise on a Wednesday and a Bank Holiday - when we know the dates, we will alert you. Stop Botley West are also planning a Dornford Lane walk (date to be announced) to raise awareness of this special area before the Developer submits their application in late 2024. More about Dornford Lane below.
Please encourage your friends and neighbours to register for updates at stopbotleywest.com so they will be among the first to hear about this them on this page.
This will also help to boost the numbers of our registered supporters.
Dornford Lane: 'A smashing length of drivers' road'
by an SBW supporter
As a keen walker, I have walked the footpaths across much of the planned location for Botley West, which includes some beautiful rolling countryside.
Dornford Lane, in the Parish of Wootton, is one particular footpath, technically a bridleway and cycle route, running north to south through the northern section of the proposed solar farm which I believe is incredibly special and should be recognised as such.
It is associated with the history of the Blenheim Estate and the old Woodstock Manor which preceded Blenheim.
Oxfordshire CC comments on it as of special interest: “Dornford Lane is an ancient green lane, coming into existence around the year 1100 for the purpose of carrying supplies from the royal demesne farm at Steeple Barton to the royal manor of Woodstock. It is very different from Akeman Street, following the valley as much as it can, curving when it suits it and having high ancient hedges alongside it.”
The 1955 book ‘The Making of the English Landscape’, by WG Hoskins, refers to Dornford Lane in some detail. The book has been updated, and in 1988 was edited by another eminent landscape historian, Christopher Taylor. Hoskins concludes that Dornford Lane originated as a road from one of the demesne farms to the royal hunting lodge of Woodstock. He believes the Lane existed for the purpose of carrying supplies along its wide green track not later than the tenth century. Taylor comments that the Lane was more likely to be the former main road into Woodstock from Banbury, which developed after 1154-74 when Woodstock was founded as a royal town by Henry II; or that it had an earlier importance as a main road to Oxford in late Saxon times before the arrival of Woodstock. Both historians confirm in different ways that the Lane has existed for 900 plus years.
Although probably not a true drovers’ road the Lane’s past use for moving goods and livestock from one place to another has resulted in a footpath and bridleway which is extraordinarily wide, and with a rich mix of trees, shrubs and other planting on either side of the actual Lane. The footpaths which meet with Dornford Lane have similarly wide and rich tree and shrub growth.
Bruce Smith’s website localdroveroads.co.uk describes it as “a smashing length of drovers' road … The hedgerow on either side of the path is 15 or 20 feet deep – hawthorn & elder run amok…”
Dornford Lane has a historical importance for the local area. Yet it is now proposed that the Botley West Solar Farm will surround it with solar panels. The developer has just announced more changes, which directly affect Dornford Lane itself, not just the surrounding fields.
The developer proposes that the Lane would be used for maintenance purposes using light goods vehicles and other vehicles during the lifetime of the solar farm. It seems that those proposing this have not seen how the path narrows ‘to a track only two feet wide through the jungle’ as described on Bruce Smith’s website. I have walked along Dornford Lane recently and found the density of trees and shrubs to be even more extensive now. Both Google and Ordnance Survey maps show this growth – 50 plus feet wide in places.
Surely concerns about preserving the Blenheim Palace World Heritage Site should extend to the surrounding area and its history - to features such as Dornford Lane, which appears to have been in existence long before Blenheim Palace was built and the old palace of Woodstock demolished - rather than simply on the palace, park and grounds within the walls?
FIRST, SBW’s report on the adequacy of the public consultation on the Botley West Solar Farm proposal (full report here). When PVDP submit their planning application (currently expected to be in September), the Planning Inspectorate will ask WODC for an assessment of the adequacy of the developer’s consultation. SBW compiled its own Adequacy of Consultation (AoC) report which has been given to WODC and will also be sent to the Planning Inspectorate.
Key findings include:
SECOND the report on our survey (full report here) of people’s experiences of the public consultation on the Botley West Solar Farm proposal (held 30 Nov 23 to 8 Feb 24). 1,442 local residents responded to our survey by completing the questionnaire which is an excellent result. This report forms appendix 1 to our Main report.
Key findings of the survey include:
TWO FURTHER APPENDICES give more detail on the accessibility of the information (here) and on the readability of consultation documents (here)
Calum Miller MP, Liberal Democrat
I have attended many of the village meetings on this subject and spoken with a number of residents. To be very clear: I share many of their concerns and do not support the proposed scheme.
Botley West is a huge scheme which will affect the lives of many local residents. I share concerns about about how a scheme of this scale is justified, financed and managed, and about the impact it will have on the area. I do not believe that the information from the proposers of the scheme (the so-called PEIR issued in December) addresses these. The Conservative government appears determined to use national powers to take decision-making out of the hands of local councils and further away from the residents who will be affected. Liberal Democrats will continue to argue for local decision-making.
For now, as you know, the decision on the scheme will be made by the Secretary of State. The Local authorities, and WODC in particular, will have a role in delivering local evidence about the scheme to the planning inspectorate. WODC wants to have the maximum impact on behalf of residents through its submission. It took the view, rightly in my opinion, that it needs to be seen to be neutral in delivering evidence, and it would potentially damage the case that WODC will make if it was perceived that it was driven by political motivation. I thought members and officers did a very thorough job in preparing their response to the consultation, which posed a number of critical challenges.
We do need solar power but with important caveats. It should not be of a scale that is damaging to the environment and to local amenity. It should not be driven by there being a single huge landowner or by commercial interests seeking to exploit weaknesses in the national planning framework. As your MP I will press the case for the National Grid to be upgraded so that solar and other renewable energy facilities can be put in the right place and for local communities to have a stronger voice in decision-making.
It is nonsense that there is a solar farm built in Eynsham that cannot be linked to a substation, and one in South Leigh with planning permission but a connection date no earlier than 2026. It is also a nonsense that the government refuses to oblige housing developers to make new houses zero carbon and to permit them to install gas boilers which will need to be replaced soon.
I hope this is helpful in clarifying my views. I can assure you that I will continue to listen, continue to work with your councillors to ensure that local views are effectively represented to government and continue to argue for more local voice in decisions that will affect our communities.
Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat
I fully understand the strong feelings of the local community towards the proposed Botley West Solar Farm. Many residents have raised serious questions about the scale of the proposal, its impact on the landscape, and the financial links of the developers.
I firmly believe that we need to address climate change, and that investing in renewable energy plays a vital part in that fight. But we have seen a complete lack of investment or strategy from this government that balances the needs of biodiversity, energy and food production.
I am concerned that in the Botley West Scheme we are seeing a deficit of local democracy and I have raised this directly in Parliament. The Phase 2 consultation has been completely developer-led with the ultimate planning decision being made by central government. My concern is that in by-passing local communities in this way, critical local knowledge will be lost.
Many residents have voiced serious concerns to me about the consultation process, with poorly briefed representatives at consultation events, poor visualisations of how the scheme would look and lack of engagement with villages such as Yarnton.
As to the proposal itself, residents are right to point out that we need renewables, and solar is part of that mix. There exists several key concerns raised by residents. They tell me that:
You may be interested to read the comments submitted by the Vale of White Horse District Council https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/2024-02-06-Vale-S42-Response.pdf
As it stands, I am not convinced the developers have sufficiently answered constituents’ concerns or made the case that this is the right solution for Oxfordshire.
This is what the construction of Botley West Solar Farm could look like - although this site, Cleve Hill, is less than half the size of Botley West and on much flatter land in the Kent marshes. Both sites provide vital roles in supporting important wildlife habitats that would be inversely impacted by the presence of solar panels
Listen to Anthony Thompson speaking to Witney Radio on Friday’s Community Matters Show
The Botley West proposal and how it will affect YOU
Presentation by Prof. Alex David Rogers, Co-chair of Stop Botley West
This short video shows what Botley West could look like for parts of the middle and south sections of the proposed power station.
Botley West Solar ‘Farm’ is a proposal to build a 3,400 acre Ground Mounted Solar installation across Oxfordshire Green Belt – by a German Developer and Landowners, mainly Blenheim Estate.
The Stop Botley West Campaign, Oxfordshire totally supports a transition to green energy including the use of solar panels, but we maintain that Botley West is the most damaging way to achieve this and must be stopped.
Nowhere in the world has a ground mounted solar farm this vast (bigger than Heathrow) been built so near to human habitation (11,000 homes within 1.5km) and for very good health and safety reasons (learn more).
It would remove thousands of tons of crops each year at a time of growing concern about food security. 250,000 hectares of unused, south-facing commercial roofs in the UK could be used instead (learn more).
There are many better ways to produce green energy. Offshore wind is up to 51% efficient compared with solar panels less than 22% (learn more).
There will be no natural gains for wildlife or the environment. There will be loss of wildlife habitat, increased risk of flooding and 51 miles of 8ft high animal proof security fencing restricting movement (learn more).
Botley West may never pay back the carbon debt it accumulates in the construction, transportation and decommissioning of panels. There is a huge amount of carbon generated in all these operations (learn more).
The current plans show Botley West SF could encroach within 100m of Blenheim Palace boundary wall and threaten its UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Historic sites like Sansom’s Platt in Wootton and Churchill’s grave in Bladon Churchyard would also be overwhelmed (learn more).
75% of the proposed site is on greenbelt land which should be protected. It would industrialise the countryside for 40 years and may never be returned to agricultural use (learn more).
Solar Panels will be highly visible at ground level from roads and footpaths for visitors and residents alike over an 11 by 3 mile area, It cannot be ‘landscaped to only be seen through gaps in the hedges’ as claimed (learn more).
The main financial beneficiaries of this industrialisation of the countryside are overseas developers PVDP (of dubious pedigree) and landowners Blenheim Estate (NOT the Palace itself) (learn more).
The Local Solution
Solar energy should be used specifically to meet local demands and directly benefit local communities, not big landowners and overseas companies.
And there are other imaginative means of providing green energy. These are just four:
The National Solution
As well as a national rollout of these local solutions we have offshore windpower which offers peak electricity in the dark winter months when the UK most needs energy and when solar panels are least efficient. And, of-course, there are other offshore energy sources – wave power, tidal power etc already in use.
Finally, Andrew Tettenborn, Professor of Law at Swansea Law School sums it up in the Spectator: “In the dash for Green Energy “corporate capital is being handed a heaven- sent opportunity at the expense of you, me and the country we live in at least as regards solar power (Government policy) is not working for the benefit of the people ……..
but instead seems to favour a more international clientele.”
All of this means we don’t need old fashioned, large scale, inefficient solar ‘farms’.
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