Centre of Pond 52m From Ditchers Farm, Slack Lane 50m From Unnamed Road, Slack Lane, Westhoughton, Bolton, BL5 3LB

the installation and operation of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and ancillary infrastructure

Authority: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: utilities-energy · Minor general industry/storage/warehousing
Inspector: Hartley S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development upon the character and appearance of the area including land designated as other protected land (OPL) in the development plan for the area
Biodiversity including whether it would deliver biodiversity net gain

What decided it

The national energy supply benefits associated with providing backup electricity to the national grid outweigh any conflict with development plan policy, combined with the site-specific circumstances demonstrating no material harm to character, appearance, or biodiversity.

Framework references: 154, 155, 180

Plan policies cited: Policy CG6AP, Policy JP-G1, Policy JP-G2, Policy JP-G7, Policy JP-G8, Policy JP-S4

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.