People opposing the building of one of Europe’s largest solar farms have said the term ‘Nimby’ is hate speech.
Botley West Solar Farm could cover about 2,470 acres of countryside in west Oxfordshire and power 330,000 homes if approved.
But Save Botley West says this would affect 15 villages as well as water meadows and heritage sites across Botley, Woodstock and Kidlington.
The anti-solar farm campaign group’s chairman, Professor Alex Rogers, has said calling them Nimbys ‘alienates’ them.
Nimbys – ‘not in my backyard’ – are people who oppose new, sometimes badly needed housing or infrastructure being built near their homes.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Sir Keir Starmer wrote in the Metro in January that his government is ‘taking on the Nimbys’ who ‘clog up our system so things can’t get built’.
Prof Rogers said: ‘We’ve heard the term Nimby bandied about by the Labour government in particular, effectively that is pejorative language deliberately used to alienate and isolate ordinary people who are legitimately concerned about the really serious impacts of what is, in effect, a non-sustainable project.
‘I would view a sustainable project as one which obviously benefits the climate, which this does, but also benefits people who live in the region and benefits wider aspects of the environment – and this scheme certainly does not do that.’
A website appearing to poke fun at Rogers’ group, ‘Botley West NIMBYS’, was made in 2023, according to internet archives seen by Metro.
It says: ‘Look, our place is much more special than yours, so you should have all the stuff we don’t like near YOU.’
Rogers added: ‘I do have a message, particularly for the Labour Party, in respect of the use of “Nimbys” or “Nimbyism”.
‘If you look at the UN definition of hate speech, the use of that term falls within that UN definition, and I think Labour would be appalled if people were using these sorts of terms to alienate other sections of society.’
The UN defines hate speech as discriminatory and offensive forms of expression, often targeting people’s race, gender, sexuality or class.
Save Botley West joined a nationwide walk to protest the farm on Sunday, walking from Blenheim gates to Churchill’s grave in Bladon.
They wrote to King Charles last month, asking him to intervene on the grounds of an 18th-century law that says the Crown must be consulted to use the land. The King has yet to reply.
Developers Photovolt Development Partners say the two million solar panels are vital to meet the government’s climate goals amid ever-worsening climate change.
The past 10 years have been the 10 hottest in nearly 200 years, with 2024 the hottest on record, fuelling climate-related disasters worldwide.
Burning fossil fuels is the main driver of climate change, which is intensifying storms, flooding, heatwaves, wildfires and droughts in the UK.
Rogers, a marine biologist at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, says he sees the impact of this in the ocean ‘every day’.
But he said the solar farm, roughly the size of Heathrow Airport, would impact the area’s view.
He said: ‘Because of the nature of the landscape that this has been put into, which essentially comprises river valleys and hills, it’s very, very difficult to conceal this solar farm in the landscape.’
Council officials said in an impact report last week that the solar farm would likely have a ‘negative’ impact on local tourism.
The plans are at the examination stage, where representations are being submitted, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to make the final decision.
Three-quarters of Britons would support a solar farm being built in their local area, a YouGov poll found.
There are around 1,3000 operational solar farms in the UK, with solar providing 6% of Britain’s energy in the past year, according to the National Grid.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
