Two solar farms refused permission

Applications for two solar farms in the Cherwell District have been refused by councillors, despite both being recommended for approval.

Cherwell District Council’s planning committee’s July 11 meeting decided Oxford New Energy’s plans for a 43.78-hectare solar farm, north of Manor Farm, Noke, near Kidlington (pictured above) should be refused because of its location in the Oxford Green Belt.

And, in the following agenda item, councillors decided RWE Solar and Storage UK’s (formerly JBM Solar) plans for a 59.4-hectare solar farm (67.9 hectares when land for cabling is included) on seven agricultural fields adjacent to Mill Lane, Stratton Audley, near Bicester (pictured below), should be refused due to harm to the landscape.

Councillors had visited both sites on the morning of the meeting. Both applications were for a ‘temporary’ period of 40 years.

A number of councillors agonised over their decisions, several saying they had to balance the benefits against the harms of both schemes.

Cllr Amanda Watkins said: “I have to say, these two planning applications have probably been among the most difficult I have had to consider in three years on the planning committee.”

In presenting the case for the Stratton Audley scheme, Robin Johnson, representing developer RWE, told the meeting its plans would provide a 215 per cent biodiversity net gain.

He went on: “Given that DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) predict a 73 per cent loss of good quality farmland due to climate change by 2050, tackling the climate crisis is vital to the future of food production in this country.”

But independent member Cllr John Broad said he found a number of claims in the application to be ‘a bit strange’.

He pointed to the applicant’s favourable community survey, adding: “We don’t know what the question was. The question could have been ‘you love solar panels in your field out the back, don’t you?’ It’s not an open question.”

He said a 215 per cent biodiversity net gain is ‘incredibly easy’, adding: “You just plant a few weeds and you’re going to end up with that because it’s different to the (existing) monocrop.”

Cllr Broad also challenged the suggestion that the DEFRA-predicted loss of farmland favoured the development.

He said: “There’s a food crisis and a cost-of-living crisis. We need the food, as was pointed out by the applicant. With the loss of farmland in the UK of 73 per cent by 2050 – shouldn’t we be trying to save it? We should not be putting glass across it.”

Both applications, which would cover a combined area of 111 hectares, had been deferred from the committee’s June 6 meeting to allow the site visits. More than 100 objections had been raised against each of the schemes.