Havering Council’s strategic planning committee granted planning permission for a battery energy storage system (BESS) on green belt land near St Marys Lane at a meeting last Thursday (July 10).
The proposals – put forward by renewable energy firm Clearstone Energy – will see battery containers built across around 11 hectares of farmland for a “temporary” period of 40 years.
Three committee members voted to approve the plans, while one voted against them and another abstained.
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Upminster ward councillors and a resident spoke at the meeting to raise concerns about impact on residents’ “quality of life” and the “openness” of the green belt.
Alan Finlay, speaking on behalf of residents in the area, said: “The voices of Havering residents must be listened to.
“For those of us living next to this proposal, we chose this rural area for its openness, views and quietness.
“The application overlooks the severe impact on residents’ wellbeing for losing openness, tranquillity and views.
“For those nearby this will cause stress and a reduction in quality of life.”
He added that residents worried the land would be classified as brownfield land after being developed on – and not revert back to green belt land after 40 years as the application suggests – leaving it “open to future development”.
Upminster ward councillor Cllr Chris Wilkins said that the huge number of objections – a total of 119 – appear “not to be taken into consideration” when recommending the application for approval.
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In response to concerns, Simon Rothwell, policy and strategy director at Clearstone Energy, said: “It [the battery hub] is a really important part of the network if we are to deliver a clean energy system by 2030.
“To deliver what we need to deliver, we need to be close to the [Warley] substation.
“There’s a very small area that we can site this project in, and all of it is in green belt.
“We’ve worked really hard to find a site which has the least impact on the green belt.”
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