Land Off Bemersley Road, Brown Edge, Staffordshire, ST6 8UL

Construction of a temporary 49.35MW battery storage facility, to include a compound, a DNO control room, a customer substation, security fencing, landscaping and other associated infrastructure

Authority: Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Szymanski D

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether or not the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt
the effect of the proposal upon the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers with particular reference to noise and disturbance
the effect of the proposal upon the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The very significant weight attributed to the climate change, energy security and grid flexibility benefits of the battery storage facility outweighed the moderate harms identified.

the very significant benefits of carbon reduction, energy storage flexibility and security of supply, together with limited biodiversity and economic benefits, significantly outweighed the moderate harm to character and appearance, the moderate harm to living conditions from noise, and the minor harm from loss of BMV land and ridge and furrow

Framework references: 153, 154, 155, 143, 161, 198, 187, 135, 110, 115, 109

Plan policies cited: SS10, SD4, DC1, DC3, SS1, 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.