The objections are in and we are awaiting a decision from Council. Thank you to everyone who put forward objections.

There is still a concern that even if the application gets rejected by the local council should there be an appeal by the developer if will go to be decided by Planning Inspectors on behalf of the Secretary of State to make a final decision. This is what happened with the Strawberry Fields site. Unfortunately some of these appeals have already gone ahead in other parts of the country and they have been successful even though they are on greenbelt land.

We understand the need for these sites but feel they should not be built anywhere near properties or schools and preferably in industrial areas. With this in mind a petition has been started by local residents stating as such and they need to get 10,000 signatures for this to get a response by the government. They need to get this into the spotlight.

This isn’t just about it being on Westfield Road it is also about the fact that if this goes ahead it practically means they could be built anywhere, they could be in a field near you, they emit noise, they are known to set alight and takes days to put out producing toxic clouds. It would be absolutely fantastic if you would like to sign the petition but not only that share, share, share.

Petition: Ban Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in residential areas