Ducklington solar farm update

Residents may be interested to see the following exchange of emails between the Parish Clerk and Nicola Jones, Principal Planning Manager at Innova.

"We have received numerous concerns from residents about the significant delay to the construction timeline. The original planning application specified an anticipated maximum of 16 weeks for construction, but we are now well past this period. This extensive overrun is causing prolonged disruption to our community through continued noise, dust, and traffic.

We are writing to you to formally request an updated and realistic timeline for the completion of the project. We also ask that you provide details on the specific measures you are implementing to mitigate the ongoing negative impacts on our residents.

Furthermore, residents are interested in the final plans for screening the new industrial site from view. We would appreciate it if you could share the landscaping and planting scheme with us to ensure that it is a sensitive and effective solution that respects the existing flora.

The Parish Council, and indeed the entire community, would appreciate your prompt attention to these matters. We look forward to receiving a comprehensive update from you as soon as possible.

Many thanks

Kind regards

Steve Smith
Parish Clerk
Ducklington Parish Council"

"Good Morning Steve,

Thank you for your email and letting us know about the local concerns. Simon passed on your email as I am the lead Planning Manager at Innova for this site and happy to discuss these details with you.

As you have set out below, construction of the site did start on 24^th February, when the access into the site was established. Currently the team are piling the structures for the solar panel supports, completing the compounds and putting the fencing in place which is scheduled to complete in the next couple of weeks. These are the noisiest elements of the construction phase and include some of the peak levels of construction traffic. The panels are scheduled to be placed on these supports by the end of October. However these will be considerably quieter works than the current phase of construction.

We recognise this has gone beyond the planned construction period and are working towards the soonest possible completion date. The site is expected to be finished and energised in April 2026. The date we can connect to the network is prescribed by the network operator (SSE). However, the traffic and all potentially noise generating activities should have ended, or be minimal, by the end of October this year. The details of the approved Construction Management Plan will be followed throughout this period but please do let us know if there are any specific junctions or roads where there have been any issues and we will address this with the construction team.

I have attached the approved landscaping plan which shows the planting which will be implemented on-site to assist in screening views. This includes tree belts along Curbridge Road and the remainder of the north/northeast boundary of the site. All of these landscaping aspects will be planted following the energisation of the site to ensure none of the construction activities affect the growth of the plants. Due to this it is likely to be implemented between Autumn 2026 and Spring 2027.

Please let us know if you have any other queries and we will review these quickly.

Many thanks

Nicola