Battery storage facility near village rejected

Concerned residents gathered at the site in August

Plans for one of the UK's largest battery storage facilities have been rejected.

More than 500 residents had objected to the bid for the site on 10 hectares of land at Parsonage Farm, near Brabourne Lees, Kent.

Villagers said it would be a significant threat to the natural ecosystem, would damage active farmland and produce noise and light pollution.

After Ashford Borough Council's rejection of the plans, a spokesperson for Greenfield Energy Developments said: "We will be reviewing the decision notice in detail and assessing viable next steps in due course."

Residents had claimed the development posed risks – particularly in fire safety, wildlife and biodiversity habitat loss, as well as endangering local children during the construction phase.

"The proposed development would result in significant adverse effects on landscape character and on visual amenity that would be harmful to the setting, special qualities, distinctive character and tranquillity of the Kent Downs national landscape," a notice from the authority said.

Officers also argued that there was "insufficient information" about the management of traffic during the construction, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Katy Bravery, a member of the Friends of Brabourne, said: "We're all grateful to the planners for seeing this destructive scheme for what it is.

"Once our countryside has gone, it's gone.

"Putting vast industrial plants in precious national landscapes or land that nature or farming needs is not the answer."

In total 542 objections to the plans were submitted, with only two in support.