In July, Torridge District Council’s Planning Committee voted to refuse proposals for a Battery Energy Storage System with a capacity of up to 99.4MW including associated infrastructure, engineering works, drainage, cabling, landscaping and access on farmland at West Webbery/Woodtown. We had submitted an objection to the proposal at the beginning of the year.
The main reasons for refusal as stated on the decision notice were: The council considered that the proposal would have adverse landscape and visual impacts, particularly when read against the cumulative impact of renewable energy developments within the wider countryside, resulting in an industrialisation of the open countryside character. The council also decided that the proposal would result in the loss of Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (BMV, Grade 3a) and affect a Scheduled Monument.
People have until 16 September to submit their comments to the Planning Inspectorate, quoting appeal reference number 6013918.