Permission granted for electrical storage scheme on green belt land near Wolverhampton on appeal

Energy developer Balance Power has been successful in its appeal against the decision of South Staffordshire Council after an inspector found the project’s environmental benefits were enough to provide “very special circumstances.”

The scheme proposed the construction, management and operation of a 50-megawatt battery-based electricity storage facility.

The facility will house 28 battery units, 14 inverters and 14 transformers on open land on the South Staffordshire Railway Walk, often used by walkers and cyclists.

Originally recommended for approval by the planning officers in December 2021, the scheme was rejected by South Staffordshire District Council due to its intrusion onto the green belt.

A spokesperson for South Staffordshire Council said: "Planning permission was refused on December 23, 2021, due to the potential impact on Staffordshire green belt and potential harm to the landscape.

"However on appeal, in this particular instance, the inspector concluded that very special circumstances existed which justified the inappropriate development on green belt land."

Development consultancy Pegasus Group managed the appeal and also provided landscape and highway services.

Gareth Roberts, Pegasus Group Director, said: “This is an excellent result for our client Balance Power Projects Limited and gives an insight into the expertise our talented team brings to such schemes.

"We provided landscape and highways support as well as full appeal project management, with our Bristol office leading to achieve a successful outcome.

"The provision of low carbon energy and the National Policy Statement advising that the storage is needed to reduce the costs of electricity and increase its reliability were crucial elements of the appeal."

Daniel Levy, planning lead at Balance Power, added: "We are delighted to have secured planning permission on appeal for the Railway Walk project and are hugely grateful for the outstanding expertise and dedication Pegasus Group provided to ensure we reached a successful outcome.