An action group and hundreds of people came together to campaign against plans for a solar farm in a West Oxfordshire village which have now been withdrawn.

The plans, which were recommended for refusal, were due to be considered by West Oxfordshire District Council's planning committee on Monday.

British Solar Renewables (BSR) applied to build a solar scheme and energy storage unit on five fields at Akeman Street in Ramsden.

The site was 45 hectares (110-acres) in size. It said solar panels would cover 11 hectares (27 acres) of it.

The company initially planned a generating capacity of up to 20 megawatts with a 1.5 megawatt battery energy storage unit.

Colin Ramsay, Development Director at BSR Energy, said they would re-submit a redesigned scheme later this year.

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He said: “We’ve listened closely to the feedback we’ve received from West Oxfordshire District Council and from local residents. In order for us to make a number of necessary amendments to our proposal, it makes sense to withdraw our existing application for Akeman Solar Park."

But he added: “It is clear that we have to change the way we get our energy to meet the challenge of reducing carbon emissions.

“This therefore remains a very important application for the district and the country, and we look forward to resubmitting an improved planning application later this year.”

Solar Park Action Group (SPAG), made up of residents of the villages of Ramsden and Delly End, walkers, riders and cyclists fought the scheme, on the grounds it would affect the views and character of the village and nearby Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), plus its impact on ecology, highways and archaeology.

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Ramsden Parish Council and CPRE West Oxfordshire objected and Witney Flood Mitigation Group said "alterations have already taken place that affect flood risk in the Windrush and therefore Witney and these must be reversed".

"We are particularly against the trench that has been excavated at the proposed solar farm. The original watercourse and drainage for the site have already been altered, intercepting an existing system which connected drainage to the Evenlode. The trench now diverts all the flow towards Delly End and on to Crawley, where properties get flooded in both locations and water ends up in the Windrush."

Oxfordshire County Council’s conservation officer said Akeman Street was "an important Roman road" and a major east-west route, linking Watling Street to Fosse Way. There were also nearby Bronze Age barrows and Iron Age remains.

There were 165 objections and 11 comments of support posted on WODC’s planning portal.

Planning officers had recommended councillors refuse the plans on the grounds the proposed development "would have a significantly harmful impact on the appearance and character of the landscape and would harm the setting of the Cotswolds AONB."

 

 

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