®Planning appeal decision
Land Northeast of Eco Park, Charlton Lane, Shepperton, Surrey, TW17 8QA
Planning appeal 3374044 at Land Northeast of Eco Park, Charlton Lane, Shepperton, Surrey, TW17 8QA (Spelthorne Borough Council) was allowed on 16 January 2026 by Inspector Moulton E, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposed development on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land within it.
the construction of and operation of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) comprising 25 containerised battery units providing an installed storage capacity of up to 200 MWh, together with associated inverters and infrastructure delivering an export capacity of up to 200 MW, and associated access, internal roads, landscaping and cable route works
- Authority
- Spelthorne Borough Council
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
- Inspector
- Moulton E
- Postcode
- TW17 8QA
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- the effect of the proposed development on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land within it
- whether the 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 necessary to justify the proposed development
What decided it
The substantial benefits of the development to climate change mitigation and electricity network regulation, combined with the absence of suitable alternative sites and the temporary (40-year) nature of the development, clearly outweighed the considerable harm to Green Belt openness and countryside character.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy GB1
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11Paragraph 142Paragraph 143Paragraph 153Paragraph 154Paragraph 168
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in Spelthorne Borough Council
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026
- Allowed25 September 20266007620Eden Grove, 17-51 London Road, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 4EX
- Allowed25 September 20266007619Eden Grove, 17-51 London Road, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 4EX
- Dismissed16 September 202660105687 Caledonia Road, Stanwell, Staines-upon-Thames, TW19 7TD
- Dismissed4 August 2026600658335 Oakfield Road, Ashford, TW15 1DN
- Dismissed23 July 202660059747 Marlborough Road, Ashford, TW15 3PZ
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.