Botley West Solar Farm: Developer to review plans

A review of a planned solar farm is being carried out after one of the landowners pulled out of the project.

Botley West Solar Farm was meant to span three sites north of Woodstock, west of Kidlington, and west of Botley.

Merton College said it was pulling out of the project following "further early-stage discussions".

Developer Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) said it was now taking the "opportunity to review" proposals for the scheme.

The solar farm was to be built on 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) of land, and would have powered up to 330,000 homes.

In a statement PVDP said: "Land owned by Merton College, which previously made up a small part of the site on which we are proposing to develop Botley West Solar Farm, is no longer available to us.

"In light of this change, we will take the opportunity to review our proposals for the scheme. This does not affect the viability of the project.

"We remain committed to developing a scheme that could deliver approximately 840MW of renewable energy and make a significant contribution towards delivering energy security for the UK and achieving Net Zero targets."

The developer said it would hold a new consultation after reviewing its plans.

Merton College, which owned 5% of the proposed site, is involved in a separate scheme at Hall Farm, Begbroke, which it said was a "key pilot" in its sustainability strategy.

The project involves planting extensive wildflower meadows to enhance biodiversity.

It said: "We have decided to continue with our existing approach to sustainability and biodiversity for our land at Begbroke, rather than including some of our land for consideration in the Botley West Solar Farm Project."

A spokesperson for the Blenheim Estate, which agreed for its land to be used for the farm, said: "The merits of this proposal remain clear, and the case for us all to increase the number of sustainable energy initiatives is only getting stronger.

"The next stages of the project will be shared by the developer shortly, and we encourage everyone to engage fully with the process and look forward to sharing the latest progress updates in due course."

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