Botley West Solar Farm
Developers are proposing to establish a large solar farm to the west of Oxford within the districts of West Oxfordshire, Cherwell and the Vale of White Horse.
The scale of the proposal is so significant, that it cannot be determined by the district councils through a normal planning application process. The proposed solar farm would be considered as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). These are projects of certain types, over a certain size, which are considered by the Government to be so big and nationally important that permission to build them needs to be given at a national level, by the Government.
Instead of applying to the local authority for planning permission, the developer must apply to the Planning Inspectorate for a different permission called a Development Consent Order (DCO).
As a host authority, West Oxfordshire District Council will be closely involved in the decision making and examination process for this scheme, but will not make the final decision.
Development Consent Order Stages and Timetable
The developer submitted their application for Development Consent to the Planning Inspectorate on 15 November 2024.
The Planning Inspectorate now have 28 days to decide whether to accept the application for Examination.
As part of this ‘Acceptance Stage’ WODC will be asked to submit an Adequacy of consultation representation within 14 days.
Further information on the project can be found on the Planning Inspectorate website:
WODC have produced a summary of the stages of the DCO process and the likely submissions required at each stage and by when.
DCO Process and Timetable Update November 2024 - pdf - 77 Kb
Pre-application engagement
The developer consulted on their proposals for a 10 week period between 30 November 2023 and 8 February 2024.
West Oxfordshire District Council responded to the developer’s statutory consultation on 8 February 2024. The response can be downloaded below:
Two further rounds of focused consultation were undertaken during July and September 2024 which WODC responded to.
West Oxfordshire District Council responded to the consultation on the developer’s Scoping Report on 12 July 2023.
The Planning Inspectorate’s Scoping Opinion, which takes account of the WODC response can be accessed on the Planning Inspectorate’s website: