Battery storage facility plan rejected
Plans to have a battery storage facility placed next to a Walsall retail park have been thrown out due to safety concerns.
Power Initiatives Limited had put forward a proposal to create a new facility on land of Six Towers Road, on the edge of Reedswood Retail Park to provide standby energy in times of blackouts.
But planning officers at Walsall Council rejected the scheme raising concerns about the safety of the site in the event of fire, flood risk and how it would impact the surrounding area.
Agents Aardvark EM Ltd said: “The primary function of the proposed development is to provide standby electricity storage capacity into the local distributive network at peak times to avoid fluctuations and blackouts and can aid in avoiding transmission losses when electricity is transmitted over long distances.
“Transmission losses can be up to 14 per cent. Times of generation will match times of peak demand within the local network and generation can be controlled remotely.”
But in their decision notice, officers said: “Insufficient information has been put forward in the submission to demonstrate safety measures in the event of a fire, explosion or failure of the battery storage and associated equipment.
“The site is in proximity to a more vulnerable use at the nearby retail park,
adjacent to the Sainsburys supermarket car park which members of the public can access, and is surrounded by trees, some of which are habitats to protected species, to the detriment of the existing amenities of the nearby retail park and adjacent land.
“The application site is situated in flood zone one and whilst there is no specific requirement for a Flood Risk Assessment, given the nature of the proposal in relation to safety if a surface water flood event occurs insufficient information is provided to inform how this would impact the use for an electricity, battery storage.
“Insufficient information has been put forward to demonstrate the visual impact of the development and how this will be integrated into the surrounding locality.
“In particular no landscaping is proposed and some clearance of trees on the site would be necessary, no tree survey information has been submitted.”
