Councillors say ‘no no no’ to rural battery farm near Gainsborough

It would have transported electricity from renewable energy projects like solar farms to Cottam power station in Nottinghamshire.

SRV Power Technology had applied for the 400MW facility to be built on fields in Marton Lane, Willingham-by-Stow.

The battery energy storage system (BESS) would have been made up of 160 lithium-powered battery containers, each roughly the size of a car.

West Lindsey District Council’s planning committee took a stand against the plans at a meeting on Wednesday, February 6, questioning why it was in the middle of the countryside.

Coun Roger Patterson (Con) said: “The storage containers look like they’ve come straight from Immingham docks.

“It won’t benefit West Lindsey in the slightest. We’re being used as a dumping ground, and it will stand out like a sore thumb.”

Coun Ian Fleetwood (Con) said: “If this was any other type of industrial site in the open countryside, we would say ‘no no no’.

“If Cottom needs this, why is it not built on a brownfield site nearer to it, rather than 6km away?”

Coun Lynda Mullally (Lib Dem), who represents the area, sent a statement saying she’d had “overwhelming negative feedback” from residents.

“This seems like a poorly-researched project, potentially focused more on profit than progress, which could open the floodgates for other projects,” she said.

Julie Barrow, representing the applicant, said battery storage systems had a “key role” in reducing the amount of energy imported or fossil fuels burnt.

She claimed it would have a “small to negligible” visual impact, and there were no fire safety concerns.

The committee voted to reject it on the grounds that its location was inappropriate.

Similar plans for a smaller BESS were also refused for land in Reepham, near Lincoln, in December, after councillors said there were “too many unanswered questions” over its safety.

West Lindsey has become one of the UK’s hotspots for solar farm development, with over 7000 acres of land given over to it under recent plans.

Three major developments have been given the green light by the government, with others under consideration.