The PVDP consultation is still open here.
We have become increasingly aware of the need to ask for meaningful community benefit from Botley West if it goes ahead- whatever your view of the merits or deficiencies of the scheme.
In terms of cash they are offering a tiny £50k/year. Another similar sized solar farm in Nottingham is offering £1,200/MW/year or a total of about £1m/year. Scotland seeks up to £5,000/MW/year. The WODC report to be approved on Monday includes a starting point of £500/MW/year.
Of course the project could be better with lower impacts on our area, but we all know that we need to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises at scale and fast – and preferably in a way that complements and supports our own local projects. So whatever your response to the rest of the consultation, when addressing the issue of community benefits for local residents, please ask for a realistic cash fund (suggestion of at least £1m/year, up to £5m/year, index linked) in recompense for the impacts, plus contribution to local low carbon projects in the project area like CAPZero (our Community Action Plan for Zero Carbon Energy), discounted electricity and pv, our local nature recovery projects, and active travel: the B4044 community path is an obvious example, along with Lower Road cycle route and connections between them.
In the meantime GreenTEA continues to campaign for all the policies that would reduce the need for so many Botley Wests and guide their location and wider benefits: energy saving, mandatory rooftop PV on new homes and businesses, land use spatial strategy, a grid fit for purpose with easy connection for community energy projects, a smart grid etc, much of which is in our CAPZero