[S]outh Lakeland District Council Planning Committee has rejected two applications for a 49.99MW Battery storage facility and a 49.99MW gas fired electricity generation station on land to the north of the Old Hutton Substation.
The applications cover an area of 3.96 hectares and sought to site 40 shipping containers containing batteries to form an energy storage facility and a gas fired electricity generation station consisting of 11 4.5MW Gas Engine Casements each with a protruding stack.
Old Hutton is a rural settlement about three miles east of Kendal and many in local communities have been campaigning against the proposals since their submission to the planning authority in May 2017.
At a planning committee meeting held in Kendal this week, concerns were raised by opponents of the proposals citing the visual impacts of the scheme which threaten the rural nature of the area and its wider impact on far reaching views from sites such as the Helm near Kendal.
Transport implications during the construction period were also raised as a concern with many worried that the development would have a significant impact upon the rural road network.
Landscape charity Friends of the Lake District submitted objections to the proposals on the basis of detrimental landscape and visual impacts and spoke at the planning committee alongside members of the surrounding community.
Laura Fiske Planning Officer for Friends of the Lake District said: “We welcome the decision by the planning committee to refuse these applications on the basis of landscape impact. We strongly believe that this development, due to its scale and nature, is inappropriate in this agricultural landscape and would give rise to detrimental impacts upon the landscape character of the area.
“This landscape has limited capacity to accommodate development which is not related to agriculture. The presence of the existing substation is not a justification to intensify industrial development and exacerbate the adverse landscape impacts in this sensitive area.”
Local MP Tim Farron said: “This is a huge victory for the local community who’ve worked hard to fight the plans from the developers.
“It is also a good and brave decision by the local council.”
“I opposed this plan because of the damage it would do to our landscape and to our local community.
“But also, because the future of our energy needs should be a renewable one – not more fossil fuels.
“The local campaigners such as Alison McGlynn have been vital in winning this battle and I want to pay tribute to all of them and thank them for working with me on this crucial issue.”
It is anticipated that the developer will appeal the decision to refuse permission and Friends of the Lake District has committed to working with the community to resist the appeal and any subsequent proposals for inappropriate development in this location.
