The above planning application has been registered with West Oxfordshire District Council. Residents are welcome to comment via the link below:
North Leigh Parish Council has registered its issues with the above planning application and you can find these comments below:
North Leigh Parish Council
Response to: 23/00760/SCREEN | Screening Opinion (Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for
proposed solar farm and Battery Stations together with all associated works, equipment and
necessary infrastructure at University Farm, Hailey Witney OX29 9UH | Land (E) 436583 (N) 212489
New Yatt Oxfordshire
We note from the information supplied by the applicant in their Screen Request letter dated 23
March 2023 that the proposed route for construction traffic is via the A4095, Common Road, Park
Road and finally New Yatt Road. We also note that the applicant deems this route to be both suitable
and ideal as the roads involved utilise the shortest route from the Application Site to the Strategic
Highways Network.
North Leigh Parish Council estimates that the construction of the solar farm would generate at least
4,000 additional HGV journeys and would like to contest the suitability of the proposed route for the
following reasons.
- Common Road. This is a residential road which already experiences a significant volume of
commercial traffic. The road itself is in a poor state of repair and any increase in HGV traffic
will only serve to further its deterioration. - The junction of Park Road and New Yatt Road. This too is a residential road and at this point
there is a narrowing of the carriageway causing a pinch point which only allows for vehicles
to pass in one direction at a time. This is a dangerous section of road and any increase in
HGV traffic will only increase the risks to pedestrians and other road users. Further, there are
three domestic properties, Hill View, Paddock House and Gable Cottage, which have their
walls and foundations particularly close to the highway and might be subject to damage
resulting from both direct impact and ground vibration as a result of additional lorry
movements. - New Yatt Road from the junction of Green Lane to Masons Grove. This section of road is
particularly dangerous and has traffic calming, in the form of speed humps and a chicane, in
place. This provides for the traffic travelling west away from the centre of North Leigh to
have right of way over those entering the village. In practice these measures have been only
partially successful and, as a Parish Council, we have received a number of reports of near
misses, both vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to pedestrian. It is considered that any additional
HGV movements are likely to increase the risk of accidents occurring. - New Yatt Road from Masons Grove to New Yatt. The carriageway between these two points
is showing signs of serious deterioration with potholes, dips, damaged cambers and
collapsing road margins. More importantly this length of road does not have a footpath and
is used by parents walking their children to the village school, other pedestrians, cyclists and
horses as well as cars and HGV’s. As with the other sections of the route discussed above any
additional HGV movements are likely to increase the risk of accidents occurring.
It is the view of the Parish Council that proposed route would create unacceptable risks to other
road users as well has causing additional severe damage to the carriageways of the roads in
question. While it is understood that materials have to be delivered to the construction site the
Parish Council believes that directing HGVs via the B4022 would prove to be a safer and more
suitable route.
In addition to our comments on HGV traffic, North Leigh Parish Council also opposes a solar park at
this location. This will have a severe impact on the views of from the New Yatt Road and Footpath
15 and will require new site roads to be built in this area also which will cause disruption. Biodiversity concerns seem to have been addressed in a very superficial way. In addition North Leigh is currently under threat from the enormous Botley West Solar Farm (apparently the 4th largest in the world) to the other side of our village, this will literally result in North Leigh becoming an island surrounded by solar parks. It is clearly not appropriate that WODC views each one on a case by case basis without considering the impact as a whole on a small rural village such as ours. - Due to having solar panels in fields immediately adjacent to either side of the road.
- It being most likely that all construction traffic will be using the New Yatt Road via
North Leigh and New Yatt.