2 days ago
Wombourne battery storage site recommended for approval
Plans for a 60-megawatt battery storage system in Staffordshire have been recommended for approval. South Staffordshire District Council will consider the proposal for the facility on Flash Lane, Wombourne on Tuesday 17 June. The application, submitted in October, received objections from concerned residents, who fear the site would mean a loss of character for the area and have a negative impact on approved, the storage facility will use the existing overhead line into Penn Substation.
Two access tracks would be established, along with a new access point along Flash Lane. The planning application was submitted by ADAS Planning on behalf of Greenfield Co. Application documents said the site would have a "profoundly positive landscape influence", adding it would "at most have a negligible impact on the local transport network".The Canal and River Trust submitted a statement to say that permission should not be granted due to the proposal failing to demonstrate the site would not result in a detrimental impact on the character of the area. However a report by planning officers said the site would not be an "inappropriate development". It added: "Taking all factors into consideration, the wider environmental benefits of the development in the context of the government's national strategy of decarbonising the country's energy system and the uplift in site biodiversity, are considered to clearly outweigh any harm to the nearby heritage assets and the green belt, which is limited."
This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
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