The engagement of this project has ended
Do you want to receive an email when news items are posted?
Low Carbon has now submitted two scoping reports for Harlesford Solar Farm and Cornwell Solar Farm to South Oxfordshire District Council. Following conversations with local elected members and consultation feedback, as part of the scoping report Low Carbon commissioned a site-specific Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey on both sites.
The ALC survey at Harlesford Solar Farm confirmed that the site is primarily grade 3b, with one small patch of grade 3a land. Grade 3b land is not the best and most versatile land, meaning there are moderate limitations on its ability to grow certain crops.
The ALC survey at Cornwell Solar Farm confirmed that the site is grade 3b in its entirety. Whilst this is a higher grade than the grade 4 classification suggested by Natural England’s provisional data, it is still classified as not the best and most versatile land, meaning there are moderate limitations on its ability to grow certain crops.
For both projects, this does not change Low Carbon’s approach. Low Carbon encourages the grazing of sheep and the siting of beehives in its solar farms, meaning that the potential for dual use of the land for electricity development and agriculture will be explored during the development of this proposal.
You can read the full Scoping Report, including the ALC survey, via the project documents section on our websites: