Land on the southwest side of Levedale Road, Penkridge, Staffordshire, ST18 9AH

the construction and operation of a battery energy storage facility and substation with associated fencing and landscaping

Authority: South Staffordshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Berry A

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area
whether any conflict with the development plan that may arise in respect of the proposal is outweighed by material considerations

What decided it

The significant weight afforded to the proposal's contribution to climate change and net zero outweighed the identified landscape character harm and conflict with the development plan.

The harm to landscape character and conflict with CS Policies OC1, EQ4 and EQ12 was outweighed by the significant weight given to climate change/net zero benefits and moderate weight given to the WMS, biodiversity net gain and economic benefits.

Framework references: 47, 180, 11

Plan policies cited: CS Policy OC1, CS Policy EQ4, CS Policy EQ12

Judgments cited: Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment and Another, Queen's Bench Division 24 October 1980; Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (admin)

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.