Botley, Planning Notice

SECTION 48 PLANNING ACT 2008 - BOTLEY WEST SOLAR FARM

REGULATION 4 THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (APPLICATIONS: PRESCRIBED FORMS AND PROCEDURE) REGULATIONS 2009

REGULATION 13 THE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) REGULATIONS 2017

NOTICE PUBLICISING A PROPOSED APPLICATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT CONSENT ORDER (DCO) FOR BOTLEY WEST SOLAR FARM

Notice is hereby given that Photovolt Development Partners GmbH (PVDP), on behalf of SolarFive Ltd (Company Number 12602740) whose registered office is 2 West Street, Henley On Thames, Oxfordshire, England, RG9 2DU ("the Applicant"), proposes to make an application to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero under section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 (as amended) for a Development Consent Order for Botley West Solar Farm ("the Application"). The Applicant intends to make the Application in summer 2024.

The Application relates to the construction, operation (including maintenance) and decommissioning of a solar farm with ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panel arrays to generate electricity from the sun as direct current. Botley West Solar Farm will be located in the county of Oxfordshire, across an area of approximately 1,300 ha. The proposed Botley West Solar Farm location extends from an area of land in the north (the Northern Site), situated between the A4260 and the Dorn River Valley near Tackley and Wootton, through a central section (the Central Site), situated broadly between Bladon and Cassington, and connecting to a section further south near to Farmoor Reservoir and north of Cumnor (the Southern Site), where the proposed Botley West Solar Farm will connect to the National Grid transmission network.

The proposed Botley West Solar Farm lies within the administrative areas of Cherwell (CDC), West Oxfordshire (WODC) and Vale of White Horse (VWHDQ District Councils, and Oxfordshire County Council (OCC).

The proposed DCO will, amongst other things, authorise:

* construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of a solar PV electricity generating facility with a capacity of over 50 MW;

* associated and/or ancillary works including construction of a substation and cable works to connect to the National Grid substation, landscaping, biodiversity areas, access tracks, construction compounds and offices; and the creation of permissive paths;

* the permanent and/or temporary compulsory acquisition (if required) of land and/or rights;

* the overriding of easements and other rights over or affecting land;

* the application and/or disapplication of legislation relating to Botley West Solar Farm; and

* such ancillary, incidental and consequential provisions, licenses, property rights, permits and consents as are necessary and/or convenient.

The proposed Botley West Solar Farm is an Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") development for the purposes of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017. The Applicant is, therefore, required to carry out an EIA and submit an Environmental Statement with the proposed Application containing information about the likely significant effects of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm on the environment. Information currently available about the likely significant environmental impacts of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm forms part of the consultation materials and is set out in a Preliminary Environmental Impact Report ("PEIR") and is summarised in a non-technical summary.

Consultation

The Applicant is undertaking a second phase of consultation on the proposals for the proposed Botley West Solar Farm between Thursday 30 November 2023 and Thursday 8 February 2024. The Applicant is making available various ways to find out more about the proposals.

A copy of the PEIR, together with a Non-Technical Summary, the Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC), and other consultation documents, plans and maps explaining the consultation process and details of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm can be found on the Applicant's website (www.botleywestco.uk/documenLLibrary.html). These documents wilL be free to read, download and print between Thursday 30 November 2023 and Thursday 8 February 2024.

All consultation documents may also be inspected free of charge at the following Locations between Thursday 30 November 2023 and Thursday 8 February 2024. Prior to visiting, venues should be contacted to check opening times.

The Applicant will host public information events to provide opportunities to view the relevant documentation and speak with members of the project team. The details of the events are as follows:

These public information events offer an opportunity to find out more about the Applicant's proposals for Botley West Solar Farm.

Details on how to access a community webinar are available in the 'Consultation' section of the Botley West Solar Farm website (www.botleywest.co.uk).

For further information or queries, please call 0808 175 3085 (free of charge); write to FREEPOST BWSF (free of charge; you do not need a stamp); email info@botleywest.co.uk or visit www.botleywest.co.uk.

To obtain copy documents:

obtain copy documents:

A full set of consultation documents can also be provided free of charge on USB upon request to the Applicant using one of the contact methods provided above.

Additional hard copies of the PEIR can be provided upon request, at a cost of £500 per copy. All other consultation documents can be made available in hard copy, large print, audio or braille format, free of charge upon request to the Applicant. Requests for translated summary documents will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Have your say:

Any person may comment on the proposals or otherwise respond to this publicity. Any response or representation must (i) be received by the Applicant between 30 November 2023 and 23.59 on Thursday 8 February 2024, (ii) be in writing, (iii) state the grounds of the response or representation, (iv) indicate who is making the response or representation, and (v) give an address to which correspondence relating to the response or representation may be sent.

If you would prefer your comments to be anonymous, please insert your postcode only.

A consultation questionnaire is available as part of the consultation and the consultation website (www.botleywest.co.uk) will allow the submission of electronic consultation responses. Any responses to the consultation or other representations in respect of the proposed Botley West Solar Farm can also be submitted at the public information events, sent to the Applicant by email to info@botleywest.co.uk or sent by post (free of charge) to FREEPOST BWSF.

The Applicant will consider and have regard to all responses received when developing its Application for a Development Consent Order. Responses and representations will form the basis of a Consultation Report that will be one of the factors taken into consideration by the Secretary of State when deciding whether the Application can be accepted for examination. Therefore, in providing any comments, it should be borne in mind that the substance of it may be communicated to others as part of the Consultation Report.

Individual responses may be made publicly available, or made available to the Secretary of State, the Planning Inspectorate and other relevant statutory authorities, in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008 and data protection legislation. Respondents do not have to provide any personal information, but this information will help the Applicant to understand the range of responses and enable the Applicant to send you further information relating to the Botley West Solar Farm. Personal information will be kept confidential where possible. Please refer to our Privacy Notice [www.botleywest.co.uk/legal-statements.html] for more details.

If you would like more information about this notice, the consultation or the proposed Botley West Solar Farm, please contact the project team using one of the contact methods provided above.

  Email us at info@botleywest.co.uk 

Call our Freephone information line: 0808175 3085

Write to us at FREEPOST BWSF

Visit our website: www.botleywest.co.uk