Agenda item

Application: 2021/0633/FULM

Location: Land South of Electricity Substation, Rawfield Lane, Fairburn

Proposal: Installation and operation of a battery storage facility and ancillary development on land off Rawfield Lane, Monk Fryston

The Principal Planning Officer presented the application which had been brought before Planning Committee as the scheme was inappropriate development in the Green Belt and Very Special Circumstances were required to approve it.

Members noted that the application was for the installation and operation of a battery storage facility and ancillary development on land off Rawfield Lane, Monk Fryston.

An Officer Update Note had been circulated and published online ahead of the meeting which explained that whilst Hillam Parish Council had not submitted any formal observations regarding the application, and had agreed at a recent meeting that it had none to submit on behalf of the Hillam residents, it wished to stress that the Planning Committee must seriously consider any concerns of other local Parish Councils, and not leave them overlooked, which often felt like the case when the applicant was a large organisation.

The Update Note also set out additional points from the applicant regarding connection to the National Grid and location of a temporary construction compound. As a result, Officers confirmed that an additional condition would be required to secure the containment and restoration of the construction compound site before the facility was brought into use.

Phil Roden, agent, was invited to speak at the meeting and spoke in favour of the application.

Members debated the application further, and as with application 20211/0789/FULM which they had considered previously, felt that the scheme again constituted inappropriate development in the green belt, resulted in harm to the openness of the green belt and the character of the area. The very special circumstances required for such development in the green belt had not been met and the application should be refused.

There was no proposer or seconder for the application to be granted.

The reasons for refusal were summarised by the Committee and were as follows:

·         the impact on the green belt would be substantial by way of inappropriate development, as the scheme represented a significant encroachment into open green belt on agricultural land;

·         the detrimental impact on the openness of the green belt which was highly protected by both local and national planning policy, which express the green belt’s importance to the government, in particular its openness and permanence;

·         the impact on the character of the green belt, which would again be significant due to the height of the structures and solid density of the multiple battery units;

·         the proposed battery storage units were not in keeping with the green belt and would be of detriment and do harm;

·         the whole areas would become industrialised and urbanised, and therefore out of character with the local conservation villages of Monk Fryston and Hillam;

·         highway safety would be compromised due to increased traffic on the A63 and at the crossroads of the junction of the A63 and Rawfield Lane;

·         the scheme did not constitute renewable energy provision and was inappropriate development which failed to preserve the openness of the green belt and was contrary to Policy SP3 of the Selby District Council Core Strategy and of the NPPF; and

·         lastly, very special circumstances did not exist to outweigh the harm to the green belt.

It was proposed and seconded that the application be REFUSED. A vote was taken and was CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

That the application be REFUSED for the following reasons:

·               the impact on the green belt would be substantial by way of inappropriate development, as the scheme represented a significant encroachment into open green belt on agricultural land;

·               the detrimental impact on the openness of the green belt which was highly protected by both local and national planning policy, which express the green belt’s importance to the government, in particular its openness and permanence;

·               the impact on the character of the green belt, which would again be significant due to the height of the structures and solid density of the multiple battery units;

·               the proposed battery storage units were not in keeping with the green belt and would be of detriment and do harm;

·               the whole areas would become industrialised and urbanised, and therefore out of character with the local conservation villages of Monk Fryston and Hillam;

·               highway safety would be compromised due to increased traffic on the A63 and at the crossroads of the junction of the A63 and Rawfield Lane;

·               the scheme did not constitute renewable energy provision and was inappropriate development which failed to preserve the openness of the green belt and was contrary to Policy SP3 of the Selby District Council Core Strategy and of the NPPF; and

·               lastly, very special circumstances did not exist to outweigh the harm to the green belt.