Land off Armshead Road, Werrington, Stoke on Trent, ST9 0ND

erection of storage containers, support infrastructure and security fencing for Battery Energy Storage Facility along with landscaping and all associated works

Authority: Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: McCormack A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies
The effect of the proposal on the purposes and openness of the Green Belt
The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area, with particular regard to landscape character
The effect on the proposal on the living conditions of nearby residents with regard to outlook, noise and lighting
Whether any harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances (VSC) required to justify the proposal

What decided it

The substantial benefits of providing renewable energy storage infrastructure to support the Government's move to a low carbon energy network, given significant weight by national policy, clearly outweighed the limited Green Belt harm and other identified harms, establishing very special circumstances to justify the development.

Framework references: 11, 143, 153, 154, 155, 156, 160, 180, 115

Plan policies cited: Policy DC3, Policy SS10, Policy SD4, Policy NE1, Policy DC1, Policy T1, Policy SD2

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.