A proposal for a large-scale solar farm development has been met with strong opposition from local MPs.

The Botley West Solar Farm proposal, made by Photovolt Development Partners GmbH (PVDP), involves the convergence of three distinct sites into one 1,300-hectare complex that will generate an estimated 840 MW.

The solar farm would cover sites near Botley, Kidlington and Woodstock if approved.

Robert Courts MP for Witney, John Howell MP for Henley, the Victoria Prentis MP for Banbury, and parliamentary candidate for Bicester and Woodstock Rupert Harrison, have issued a statement expressing their concerns about the solar farm and the impact it could have on local communities.

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The MPs wrote in the statement: "We have all been contacted by a significant number of constituents and local residents who are extremely worried about the proposals."

They cited a petition presented to Parliament last summer, carrying more than 2,000 signatures from local residents in opposition to the development.

Their concerns echo those raised by Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, and Vale of White Horse District Councils.

The concern is amplified by the proposal’s status as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, reducing the influence of the local district councils on the project.

The MPs said: "We believe residents are right to be concerned that your proposals will escape an important level of local scrutiny as a result."

Despite acknowledging the necessity for increased domestic renewable energy production, the MPs maintain that PVDP’s development fails to satisfy the conditions required of greenfield sites and would lead to the loss of substantial amounts of productive agricultural land.

The MPs said residents felt the development being classified as temporary or fully reversible, but with a lifespan of 40 years, was not acceptable.

The MPs also expressed residents’ dissatisfaction with the proposed £50,000 per annum Community Benefit Funding, describing it as "woefully inadequate".

In response to the concerns, a spokesman for PVDP said: "We have received a large amount of feedback at our in-person events and through our feedback forms, all of which will be documented in our consultation report.

"It is important that our community benefits initiatives are viewed as a whole.

"As well as a fund, we are proposing to establish a retail electricity company to sell the output from Botley West Solar Farm to local residents at discounted rates, and we have also explored on-site benefits such as new footpaths and cycle paths, as well as areas for community food growing.

"We note the large number of consultees who have requested an increase to the fund’s size – we are really grateful for the feedback that we have received in this area and is something that will be fully considered as the project moves forward."