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STV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
MSP urges councillors who greenlit controversial battery storage site to resign
Permission for a controversial plan to store energy in batteries on greenbelt land in Eaglesham could be revoked by East Renfrewshire Council. Two Conservative councillors, Jim McLean and Andrew Morrison, will ask the council's planning committee to back a U-turn at a meeting next week. Initially, councillors rejected a plan from GPC 1337 Ltd, a subsidiary of Apatura, for a 40MW battery energy storage facility on an agricultural site on the east side of Glasgow Road. But the firm's second bid was approved last month, despite over 300 objections, on the casting vote of the chair, Cllr Betty Cunningham, Labour, after a 3-3 vote. Both applications had been recommended for approval by planners. Since the second plan got the green light, a Scottish Government reporter has announced his decision to uphold the original refusal of the first application. He had been considering an appeal by the applicants. More than 3,000 people have signed a petition calling for the planning approval to be overturned. It states: 'Our voices have been ignored and the decision does not reflect the best interest of those who call this area home.' Cllr McLean and Cllr Morrison opposed both proposals when they were presented to the planning committee. They raised concerns over the appropriateness of the site. The aim of the scheme is to store surplus energy from the national grid in the batteries, which would then be returned when required. It has been described as a 'temporary' installation, with the site returned to its previous condition after 40 years. The first application was refused after councillors raised concerns over the risk of fire from lithium-ion batteries. Local MSP Jackson Carlaw, Conservative, has said the greenbelt should be protected and the proposal is 'intrusive and inappropriate'. He also said there were 'very serious concerns and real-life examples of fires that have erupted at battery plants because of the lithium-ion batteries'. Keith Bray, the independent reporter appointed by Scottish Ministers, refused the appeal over the original application earlier this month. He found that 'while the proposal could make a small-scale and indirect contribution to renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, it would entail development that has adverse visual effects in a greenbelt location where strict control over new development is to be exercised'. Mr Bray added: 'When completing my decision, the council approved a revised scheme on the site and the appellant asked to submit it. Given it was late in the appeal process, I did not accept it.' He also said the company had asked to submit drawings which showed the 'installation of two further above-ground water tanks' to align with the proposal's fire safety plan. These weren't accepted as they 'constituted a change to the proposal'. Council officials had reported the second application differed from the original as more information has been submitted on fire safety, and a water tank is now proposed to be underground. They added that the development includes specialised container units for the batteries and fire suppression equipment. Following the reporter's decision, Mr Carlaw added it 'highlights with even greater clarity that people in Eaglesham and Waterfoot have been utterly ignored and failed by the council'. He called on councillors who backed the development to 'consider their position and resign'. GPC 1337 Ltd has said the development will 'support the decarbonisation of the energy industry in the UK' and 28 other sites had been considered, but this is 'the only deliverable, viable' one. The plans were 'accompanied by a suite of technical documents which demonstrate the proposal will not lead to significant adverse harm,' the applicants added. East Renfrewshire's planning applications committee will meet on Wednesday, June 4. The motion asks for planning officials to issue a revocation order under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Glasgow Times
11-05-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
Eaglesham Mum raises concerns about battery storage facility
Last month East Renfrewshire Council gave Cheshire-based firm GPC 1337 Ltd, which is understood to be a subsidiary of Apatura, the go ahead to build and run a 40-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) on an agricultural site at the east side of Glasgow Road in Eaglesham. A previous application was refused last October after councillors raised concerns over the risk of fire from lithium-ion batteries. The company returned with a new plan, which council planners once again recommended for approval, but more than 300 people submitted objections to the scheme, including local MSP Jackson Carlaw. READ NEXT: Song celebrating Glasgow football club released for lifelong fan's 90th birthday READ NEXT: ScotRail peak fares to be scrapped in major change MSP Jackson Carlaw has previously stated his opposition to the decision (Image: Sourced) One of those vehemently against the BESS is Morag Hannan who has three young children and whose family is one of four households living metres from the site. The mum, who has described the increasing number of BESSs as an 'assault on the Scottish countryside,' is deeply concerned because when lithium batteries go wrong, they do so 'explosively' and 'have a tendency to reignite.' The 41-year-old said: 'We would have to evacuate towards the fire. We don't have any way to go out the back. 'It's barbed wire fences and our neighbour beside us has got a stone wall. He's in his eighties and he can't get over that wall. 'We would have to move towards the fire and the hydrant is directly outside our drive, so if fire engines got there first, we're trapped. We cannot get out." Morag Hannan with neighbour Kenneth Munro and husband Craig at the site (Image: Newsquest) 'The advice is to shelter in place, but it's a listed building with chimneys and obviously everyone's worried about the toxic fumes that come off battery fires," she added. 'We don't think that we could safely shelter in place and we don't know how we would get out either and these are things that the planning officer has ignored.' She pointed to the battery storage plant fire at Moss Landing in California earlier this year and last month at a battery recycling plant in Kilwinning to highlight the devastation that can occur in the event of a battery fire. Her concerns, however, are not just for her family and neighbours but for the long-term environmental and health impact a BESS and a fire would potentially have on Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire and beyond. She has also raised questions as to why this site has to be used, when it is connecting more than five miles away to a substation in Giffnock. Morag Hannan (Image: Newsquest) 'In Moss landing they tested the soil samples and there are dangerous levels of toxic metals in the soil since the fire,' said Morag, who also raised concerns about asthma and respiratory problems following battery fires. 'We're talking about the whole of East Renfrewshire being affected if this happens. 'The White Cart River is 170 metres downhill from this site. 'They said they will put in protection measures, but they keep chopping and changing and they can't tell us how these work. 'There's such a high safety issue, not to mention the noise, which they've kind of downplayed." Morag Hannan, neighbour Kenneth and her husband Craig (Image: Newsquest) A petition to overturn the decision was started by a non-Eaglesham resident, which Morag says shows that this is not just an Eaglesham issue and how many throughout the authority feel strongly about the issue. The petition, which highlights concerns about the establishment of a BESS on greenbelt land and potential land contamination, has attracted nearly 3,000 signatures. It states that the council had earlier rejected a similar proposal from the same company, with councillors 'raising concerns about the suitability of the site and pointing out that the energy produced may not necessarily be from renewable sources'. It further adds that their earlier judgment should have set a precedent, yet now, 'inexplicably', approval has been granted. An Eaglesham Community Action group has also been started by Eaglesham resident Tom Taylor in response to the decision. Tom has raised concerns about a high voltage electricity line and a high pressure natural gas line running through the site. An Apatura BESS (Image: Apatura) Andrew Philpott, chief development officer at Apatura, said: 'The points raised by residents are understandable, and when developing projects, we take all of the local communities' concerns extremely seriously. 'The proposed project at Eaglesham has been through a rigorous planning process, meeting all of the council's requirements and ensuring the proposed project is developed to the highest standard. 'This includes developing a comprehensive fire safety plan with the local Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), conducting environmental impact reports and extensive Noise Impact Assessments (NIAs). 'These steps minimise the impact on local communities and environments, whilst maximising the impact on Scotland's net zero targets. 'We also develop a community fund alongside all our projects, specifically designed to directly fund community projects and benefit local residents. Our goal is to ensure that the communities hosting our projects share in the rewards, contributing to a sustainable and equitable future for all. 'Battery Energy Storage Systems are a crucial part of decarbonising the UK's energy demand and directly support the vast amounts of wind and solar energy produced in Scotland - storing it when generation is high for when demand is at its peak - and help put an end to expensive curtailment costs. 'The Eaglesham project is critical infrastructure for the nation, and whilst we're still in the early stages of development, we look forward to working closely with the local community and the council to make sure it's beneficial for all parties involved.' An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: "Having considered the application in full, permission was granted by our Planning Applications Committee with a number of conditions which must be met by the applicant."
