To our Oxfordshire Local Authority Leaders

(Cllr Barry Wood, Cherwell; Cllr Susan Brown, Oxford; Cllr David Rouane, South Oxon; Cllr Andy Graham, West Oxon; Cllr Bethia Thomas, Vale of White Horse; Cllr Liz Leffman, Oxfordshire County Council)

Renewable energy is essential, but Oxfordshire urgently needs a more strategic approach.

As leaders of our Oxfordshire local authorities, we ask you to make an immediate commitment to producing a county-wide Renewables Strategy, including public consultation, and to set an early deadline for completion.

Currently renewable projects (such as the potential grouping of sites at Tetsworth, Nuneham Courtenay and Culham and the proposed 10km2 Botley West solar farm) are threatening vast areas of Oxfordshire's food-producing agricultural, greenfield and Green Belt land.  These projects are driven by speculative developers and landowners, not local communities.

Renewables have to be somewhere but that doesn't mean they have to be everywhere.  Our councils must have a plan, so they aren't just reacting to the latest application.  A proper strategy will help ensure we have the renewable energy we need in places where it will cause least harm to our environment.

There are scores of applications for solar farms in our countryside (see CPRE Oxfordshire's Oxon solar farms map). Yet the Pathways to Zero Carbon Oxfordshire report, produced by Oxford University, says that even at the highest case only 1% of Oxfordshire's land would be needed for solar generation. Therefore, all the solar energy Oxfordshire needs could be accommodated on domestic and commercial roofs, and above car parks and other public buildings, without sacrificing agricultural land at all.

To make sure we get the renewable energy we need as quickly as possible, and in a way that protects our countryside, we ask all our local authorities to work together to produce a county-wide renewable energy strategy.

This should set out the amount and spatial location for renewables projects, prioritising brownfield sites and rooftop renewables.

Crucially, the strategy should be developed with full public consultation and engagement, putting local people back in charge of the decision-making.

We need an Oxfordshire-wide renewable energy strategy NOW.

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