Battery energy store agreed despite concerns
Plans for a battery energy storage facility have been given the green light, despite opposition.
Root Power North Limited wants to build a 38MW facility on agricultural land at Hastings Hill Farm, close to the A19, near Sunderland.
The city council's planning and highways committee said the plan would help achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and it was not an "inappropriate development" on green belt land.
Local councillor Margaret Crosby, Liberal Democrat, said she hoped the Labour-led council would not "live to regret" the unit's proximity near the Hastings Hill Round Barrow ancient monument.
Developers said the facility would store energy in times of energy surplus and release it back to the grid when demand exceeded supply, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
During a public consultation, 14 objections were lodged raising concerns about impact on the landscape, as well as highway and pedestrian safety and fire risk.
The planning committee said the development would have a "low to moderate level of harm to the significance" of the Hastings Hill Round Barrow, which is 590ft (180m) from the site.
Crosby, who represents Grindon and Hastings Hill, said: "This industrial development is totally out of keeping with the agricultural land and rural nature of the area and risks damaging the ability of people to enjoy a scheduled ancient monument and the surrounding countryside.
"There is no shortage of brownfield site or industrial estates that would be much better to locate an energy storage system."
She said that she feared a "big fire" could cause disruption to the A19 and nearby houses, as well as damage to the landscape.
Councillors were told the site would be screened through landscaping and the land would be restored to its original condition after 40 years, along with fire safety and monitoring measures built into the scheme when it is operational.
A representative for the applicant Root Power (North) Limited said the proposed site was the "only site available", as alternatives were not large enough or "landowners did not come forward".
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