Fears battery plant plan a 'ticking time bomb'

Residents have started a campaign to stop an energy story facility being built on farmland close to Heath village, in Wakefield

Residents are urging council bosses to reject plans to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) next to their homes.

Harmony Energy has applied to build 72 containers storing lithium ion batteries on greenbelt farmland in Heath Common, Wakefield.

Wakefield and District Travellers Association said it would be like living next to a "ticking time bomb", as a similar site owned by a different company in Liverpool caught fire in 2020.

Wakefield Council said the plan would be assessed in line with all relevant national and local planning policy.

In September 2020, a fire at a BESS site owned by Orsted, in Liverpool, took 59 hours to extinguish following an explosion.

Annemarie Nicholson, who represents the travellers association, said: “If this plan goes ahead, this will be a ticking time bomb for all the residents living here.

“The thought of this proposed plan is having a huge impact on people’s mental health.

“Everyone we spoke to was worried about their health and safety if the batteries catch fire... and worried about living with the constant noise from the site and the impact it will have on their day-to-day lives.”

'Operating safely'

A Harmony Energy spokesperson said it had an “impeccable” safety record and operated 14 sites across the UK without incident.

“Schemes would not be financeable or insurable if they were deemed to be a significant risk, and there are at least 130 utility scale battery systems operating safely in the UK and many thousands more across the globe," they said.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority said up to 5.5m litres of water could be needed if there was an explosion at the site.

Protest group

The I Love Heath Common protest group was set up in opposition to the scheme when plans were submitted in July 2022.

More than 1,400 residents have signed a petition opposing the scheme.

Local MPs Simon Lightwood, Yvette Cooper, Jon Trickett and Andrea Jenkins have all objected to the plan, alongside several district and parish councillors.

Joe Jenkinson, service director for planning and transportation at Wakefield Council, said: “This planning application is available on our planning portal for people and organisations to comment on.

"It will be assessed in line with all relevant national and local planning policy and all comments will be considered as part of this process.

"A date has not yet been set for when the application will be determined.”

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].