Two sides charge up for hearing into Telford battery energy storage plan
A planning inspector will set about the task of deciding whether a council was right to refuse a proposed 50MW battery site at a hearing tomorrow (Wednesday, July 2).
Applicant Lower Coalmoor BESS Limited is set to ask the inspector to not only approve the proposal on a site near Jiggers Bank but to award costs against Telford & Wrekin Council which it accuses of being unreasonable.
The two sides have already agreed that safety is “not a reason for refusal” and will deal with that if it is approved.
Councillors on Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning committee had rejected the application close to Buildwas Bank against the ‘balanced’ advice of officers.
Elected councillors considered the plan unacceptable because of land stability, and visual intrusion harming the setting of both the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site and Severn Gorge Conservation Area.
The applicants claim that the refusal was unreasonable and want a planning inspector to order the council to pay costs.
The council has responded by saying that its officers’ advice to approve the scheme was ‘balanced’ and elected councillors decided to refuse it.
The hearing will be held at the Ramada Telford Ironbridge, off Forge Gate, central Telford, from 10am.
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