Villagers raise concerns over battery site plan

Ann Fowler said the planned site would harm the appearance of the area

Villagers opposing plans for a large battery storage plant have raised safety and traffic concerns.

Elgin Energy has applied to set up the facility on land near Upton Magna in Shropshire, close to the A5.

David Carter said he worried about the risk of fire or an explosion and Ann Fowler said the site would spoil the local countryside.

In its application to Shropshire Council, Elgin Energy said it had taken fire precautions and would screen the site with trees and bushes.

Battery storage plants, or battery energy storage systems (BESS), stockpile wind and solar energy and release it when needed.

That excess electricity is stored as chemical energy, usually inside lithium-ion batteries, so when conditions are calm and overcast it can be sent back into the power grid.

Concerns around fire safety stems from the lithium within the batteries, which can cause an explosion when it overheats.

In its planning application, submitted by agents Berry's, Elgin Energy said it had "taken on board guidance from the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service and the National Fire Chiefs Council" when designing the site.

It also said the plans for the 10-acre site had been drawn up with "safety as a priority".

It said that included measures including "fire detection in each container, over-temperature protection, ventilation systems, and aerosol fire extinguishing system".

David Carter said he had concerns about the safety of the plant

Mr Carter, who lives in Upton Magna, said residents first learned about the plans when leaflets were delivered to about 250 homes in the area.

The company wants to develop a site west of Pelham Road and it submitted its application in May.

Mr Carter said there was "insufficient infrastructure" around Upton Magna, and the nearby A5 was already well-used by people visiting the National Trust's popular Attingham Park estate.

His biggest concern was the safety of the proposed plant, however, and he said: "These large battery energy storage systems present a very well-documented fire, explosion and chemical contamination risk."

Mr Carter agreed there was a need for facilities such as the one proposed, but argued: "It's the location and it's the risk to the village, its the risk to personal life."

The facility has been earmarked for land near Upton Magna

Ms Fowler said there were sites "much more suitable than outside our very small village".

She said people came to live there because it was a "beautiful village in a very rural setting and the large battery site would have "a major impact on the very reason why many people came to live here in the first place".

"Find a brownfield site which is closer to the substation," she said.

Local Reform UK councillor Brendan Mallon said: "This a clearly risky industrial process" and he pledged to fight the application.

Brendan Mallon pledged to continue to fight the plans, even if they are approved

The planning application submitted to Shropshire Council said the proposed facility had the "capacity to store as much as 200 MWhs of electricity in one cycle – enough electricity to power over 26,666 typical local homes for a day".

It also pointed to planning guidance which said "the planning system should support the transition to net zero by 2050".

Shropshire Council said all planning applications would consider "the appropriate local and national planning policies" and a period of consultation on the plans will last until 13 June.

Elgin Energy and Berrys have been contacted by the BBC for further comment.