Football club 'bewildered' by battery farm review

A Scottish football club says it is "bewildered and extremely disappointed" its plans to build an energy facility are to be reviewed.

Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle was granted planning permission last week for a battery farm near Inverness' Fairways Business Park.

The site would store excess energy generated by wind farms and release it back to the Grid at periods of high demand.

Caley Thistle said it had been informed by Highland Council that councillors are to reconsider the proposals.

The club said some of the income raised from the project would go towards its community outreach programme.

In a statement, Caley Thistle said: "The club has been clear as to how critical this planning application is to the future of the club and everything that the club does for our fans and our local community.

"We will therefore challenge this position taken by the council and will robustly stand by our planning application that was only last week legally and properly approved by the council's south planning committee."

Highland Council officials had recommended that the project should be refused planning permission.

Concerns have been raised over noise pollution and loss of green space.

But councillors at last Wednesday's south planning applications committee voted to grant permission by a vote of three to two.

A company, ICT Battery Storage Limited, has been created to drive forward the plans.