'No reason' for battery storage facility in Great Barr to be built on green belt - MP
There is no reason why a battery storage facility used to store and re-use electricity needs to be built on greenbelt land in Great Barr, an MP has said.
Anesco has put forward plans to Walsall Council for a battery energy storage system (BESS) over two hectares on Chapel Lane, next to The Duckery.
It would see a total of 28 battery units, a substation, transformers and feeder pillars and other related infrastructure installed on the site under the plans.
The BESS is expected to have a lifespan of 40 years and will be removed afterwards – with the field being "returned to its previous condition" afterwards.
But the move has been criticised by Walsall South MP Valerie Vaz who said there was "no reason" why the BESS had to be constructed on green belt land.
She said: "I have written to the council to oppose Anesco’s plans to build 28 large battery units on Green Belt land, and raised the matter in the House of Commons with the Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Minister agreed to meet with me to discuss the Application.
"There are no ‘very special circumstances’ for this Application which outweigh the harm of encroaching onto the Green Belt. It breaches the National Planning Policy Framework, Black Country Core Strategy and Walsall Council’s Site Allocation Document. Residents I met with are strongly opposed to Anesco’s plans.
"There are other possible sites for battery storage, such as Oldbury National Grid Sub Station, next to the motorway and away from residents. There is no reason that the project needs to go ahead in open countryside in the Great Barr Conservation Area."
Plans submitted to Walsall Council said one of the main reasons the site has been chosen is its proximity and the proposed development is temporary. A 2.4 metre high security fence to restrict unauthorised access is also proposed for the site.
Planners argued it would have a "relatively low impact" and construction of the site would be completed in six or seven months, depending on the weather, with the battery containers and other components delivered to the site throughout construction – and there will be no onsite office or permanent staff on site.
The BESS will capable of importing and exporting approximately 49.35 Megawatts (MW) of electricity to and from the National Grid, under the plans.
