Green belt battery storage unit gets go-ahead

The facility will be built near Culham Campus and the UKAEA, which is based there, supported the application

An energy storage scheme on Oxford green belt that was rejected last year has been given the green light after a planning inspector overturned the decision.

The 500MW facility on land north-west of Culham Campus was turned down by South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) in August over concerns about its impact.

The council said it would be an "urban industrial development" in the countryside but a planning inspector said the drive to net zero carbon emissions meant it must go ahead.

Statera Energy's project for the seven-hectare (17.2-acre) site was backed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), which is based at Culham Campus.

The UKAEA said the facility would provide "several direct and indirect benefits", including improved energy resilience.

The planning permission for the site, off Thame Lane, would last for 40 years from when the first stored electricity is brought to the National Grid.

Planning inspector John Braithwaite acknowledged the application did not adhere to some of SODC's planning policies but said he had given "significant weight that must be afforded" to the need for the battery facility.

He said that outweighed the "moderate/minor harm" that will be caused to the area's character.

He added the "urgent need for electrical storage" to support the growth of renewable energy means the facility will be a "critical element" in that effort.

Last year, Statera Energy said its work will include "re-establishing" a park and garden of the Nuneham Courtenay Park and Garden.