I am writing to inform you of our updated proposals for Botley West Solar Farm. Photovolt Development Partners, on behalf of SolarFive Ltd, is carrying out a further round of targeted consultation for Botley West Solar Farm, focusing on specific changes that have been made across the site.
We are now consulting on these proposed changes from Friday 14 June to Sunday 28th July 2024. The deadline for feedback is Sunday 28 July 2024.
Following design developments since our phase two consultation undertaken between November 2023 and February 2024, a number of changes to the proposals for Botley West Solar Farm have been made. This progression has been informed by further design work and due diligence, consideration of consultee feedback, and responding to results and data from environmental assessments.
This has resulted in a series of amendments to the proposed red line boundary for the project. This includes both increases and decreases of the project boundary compared to the one that was presented in the Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) and for Phase Two Consultation.
Our Information Change Note, which is attached, presents our changes and whether they have any significant effect on what is presented within the PEIR, is attached.
To summarise, the targeted changes set out at this phase of consultation are considered desirable as a result of:
- Due diligence reviews: for example, adjusting the project boundary to precisely align with updated data and base mapping of land ownerships and field boundaries. These changes are very minor and as a consequence there are no anticipated changes to previously reported environmental effects.
- Engineering and feasibility matters: for example, there are now updated preferred cable corridors within which the Applicant has now identified preferred routes, and this has resulted in alterations to the project boundary. In some cases, the Applicant has removed corridors to avoid potentially significant impacts to archaeology, and in other case the Applicant has adjusted a corridor to help minimise likely environmental effects.
Additional work has also been undertaken to show the routing of the underground 33kv cables, often underneath a highway, to provide necessary connection between fields either side. In these cases, the Applicant has not identified a specific crossing point for the 33kv cable, but instead has identified a relatively long stretch of highway where the 33kv could cross at any point. This approach has been taken to allow the Applicant to assess then select a location which avoids or minimises adverse effects to sensitive receptors, ecology, archaeology and other environmental impacts. The crossings will go underneath the highway rather than use an open trench technique to minimise or avoid potential adverse effects to the highway or other rights of way.
- Transport and access: following a review of all site access requirements for construction vehicles, the project boundary in the vicinity of a number of proposed access points has been increased. This is primarily for safety reasons i.e. to provide appropriate visibility splays at these access points to allow the safe ingress and egress of vehicles onto the adjacent public highway. It became clear to the Applicant that they needed to control more land to deliver these requirements and so the project boundary was changed to accommodate these splays. In addition, some changes arose from the need to ensure effective access for maintenance purposes, and this too has led to some adjustments to the project site boundary.
- Refinement: we are committed to avoiding any unnecessary land included within the proposals. Our team has refined the proposed red line boundary for the project in areas to remove land that is no longer required.
Have your say
We encourage you to submit feedback on these targeted changes for Botley West during this time by following the instructions below. The feedback and comments we receive will help inform the final design of the project, which we will submit to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration. Please note that the deadline for submission of feedback is Sunday 28 July 2024 (on or before this date).
Information on our updated proposals, including our Information Change Note, can be viewed in the Document Library section on our website: www.botleywest.co.uk. There is also the Site Location and Order Limits Plan and a zoomable map available on our website where the changes can be viewed.
Hard copies of materials regarding this consultation are available at:
- Woodstock Library, Fletchers House, Park St, Woodstock, OX20 1SN
- West Oxfordshire District Council Town Centre Shop, 3 Welch Way, Witney, OX28 6JH
- Kidlington Library, 23 Oxford Road, Kidlington, OX5 2BP
- Botley Library, 5a Church Way, Botley, Oxford, OX2 9TH
- Eynsham Library, 30 Mill Street, Eynsham, OX29 4JS
You can provide feedback in the following ways:
- By completing our online feedback form on our website: www.botleywest.co.uk. The link to the form can be found on the Home page, as well as on the Targeted Consultation page on the website.
- By emailing the project team at info@botleywest.co.uk
- By writing to us, free of charge, to FREEPOST BWSF. You do not need a stamp.
During this phase of consultation, our phonelines will be open between 9am – 7pm from Monday to Wednesday, and 9am – 5pm on Thursdays and Fridays. A voicemail service will operate outside of these hours.
Kind regards,
Mark Owen-Lloyd,
Project Developer
On behalf of the Botley West Solar Farm Project Team
Stakeholder Correspondence
Email: info@botleywest.co.uk
Freephone Information Line: 0808 175 3085
Freepost: FREEPOST BWSF
Website: www.botleywest.co.uk