DOZENS of residents attended a public meeting this week organised amid fears about plans to build a battery farm on green belt on the edge of Wall Heath, near Kingswinford.
An application has been submitted to South Staffordshire Council seeking permission to construct and operate a battery energy storage system on land next to Hinksford Substation, Hinksford Lane, Hinksford.
Residents living in Hinksford, Wall Heath and Swindon, however, have expressed concerns over the plan and around 40 people living near the proposed development site turned out to a public meeting held at the Hinksford Arms on Monday night (April 22).
Councillor Sean Massey, chairperson of Swindon Parish Council, said people are concerned about the impact the development would have on the green belt, the damage it would do to the environment and the potential risk of fire.
If the plan is approved, 36 modular battery units and nine inverter/transformer units would be installed on the land. There would also be a control room, amenity cabin, storage room, underground water tank, CCTV, lighting and an access track and emergency access track.
The application, submitted by Bristol based energy product developer Balance Power Projects Ltd, says the development would be temporary and time-limited to 40 years and afterwards the land would be returned to its previous use.
A design and access statement submitted by the applicant states: "Balance Power are looking to bring forward the NetZero objectives recognised by the UK Government by accelerating the transition to a fully renewable energy mix, through deployment of suitable localised energy generation technologies."
Other planning documents add: “The purpose of the development is to import/store electricity at periods of grid low demand and export back to the National Grid when required. The site is located within the immediate vicinity to the Hinksford National Grid Substation to the east where a direct point of connection will be provided to/from the site.”
Swindon Parish Council, however, has called for the proposal to be refused – saying: “This is a very large development in the green belt, overdevelopment of the site and would have a major impact on the on the openness of the green belt.”
In a letter objecting to the plan, parish councillor Gordon Fanthom said the development would be “an “unwarranted intrusion on the green belt” and he called for the land to have special protection.
He said the strip of land affected “is the most important strip of green belt land in the whole of Staffordshire County as it acts as the very reason why green belt was introduced - to prevent villages and towns merging together”.
He said the application is “well out of proportion” – adding: “The proposed application is around three times the size of the existing substation and combined with the existing substation would take up over 75 percent of the greenfield.
“The proposed development is too close to local houses including the Hinksford Arms Public House and the residents of nearby Hinksford Mobile Home Park."
Kingswinford community campaigner Shaz Saleem said residents from Wall Heath are concerned about the plan "as the proposed site is on the border of where we live" and he added: "I would like to thank Steve Parkes and David Stringfellow for organising the meeting and our residents for attending.”
The plan is expected to be determined by May 27.
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