A proposed solar farm that could become the biggest in the UK has raised concerns that it could damage landscape, the Blenheim Palace World Heritage Site and Oxford’s Green Belt.
Botley West Solar Farm is planned for three sites - north of Woodstock, west of Kidlington and west of Botley.
The 840 megawatt facility has the potential to power 330,000 homes - equivalent to the whole of the county, according to developers Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP).
Much of the site is on land owned by Blenheim Estates and officers of West Oxfordshire District Council have published a draft response to a consultation which closes on Thursday (February 8).
The decision whether or not to allow it to be built will be taken by central government, not by local planning officers or district councillors.
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It states the size of the facility has been reduced in size from a total area of 1,400 hectares (5.4 square miles) to 1,300 hectares, and solar panels and other infrastructure will cover approximately 890 hectares rather than 1,000 hectares.
If approved, it would be the largest ground mounted solar farm in the UK and the area of solar panels would be broadly equivalent to the size of Carterton and Brize Norton Air Base combined.
The report said the proposed scheme design at this stage seems to "have been led primarily by land availability and proximity to the grid connection point", rather than a comprehensive assessment of the "environmental characteristics to guide a development that is well designed and sensitive to place".
It thinks "that the proposed mitigation measures may not be sufficient to adequately address the impacts on the significance of heritage assets".
These include the impact on the Blenheim Palace World Heritage Site "an internationally significant heritage asset" which "makes a significant contribution to the historic character and cultural heritage of West Oxfordshire as well as being of key importance to the local economy".
Although there has been some landscape and visual impact assessment "an assessment has not been undertaken for each of the representative viewpoints", it states.
"Photomontages and visualisations are only available for 18 of the 57 representative viewpoints at this time, which presents a degree of uncertainty in assessing the landscape and visual impacts, both positive and negative".
Although proposals for development in conservation areas in Bladon and Church Hanborough have been dropped the council said there is likely to be "a residual impact on heritage assets in these locations, particularly on the setting of the conservation areas and listed buildings”.
The council has greatest concerns about the central site - Bladon, Church Hanborough, Eynsham and Cassington - most of which is within the Oxford Green Belt with a significant area classed as Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land.
The report states: "There is also potential for cumulative impacts in combination with other strategic development in the area such as that proposed at Salt Cross Garden Village."
The council said it is not possible at this stage to take a fully informed view of impacts on ecology and nature conservation without more detail on the design and details of environmental enhancements.
The applicant has stated an intention to achieve at least 70 per cent biodiversity net gain, it says.
"Such significant gains in biodiversity would be supported... but it is not possible to comment on the suitability of measures proposed at this stage, due to the lack of information provided".
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The employment opportunities arising from construction, operation and maintenance and decommissioning of the project have all been assessed as having a beneficial impact.
The council supports "measures to improve the health and well being of communities including increasing the public rights of way network within and around the development site".
And it supports "the provision of community benefits arising from the scheme" and in terms of financial benefits considers that "a rate of £500 per MW per year may be appropriate".
The council's response will be formally agreed at a development control committee meeting tomorrow (February 5).
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