West Lindsey District Council will write to the government calling for them to strengthen the role of local fire and rescue services in planning applications relating to Renewable Energy Sites.
Since July 2020 Battery Energy Storage Systems have been removed from the national planning infrastructure regime and now fall to be determined by the local planning authority.
Currently local fire and rescue services are not statutory consultees in planning applications but councillors at West Lindsey would like this to change. They unanimously supported a motion at its Council meeting on Monday, where they agreed to write to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), specifically in relation to Battery Energy Storage System sites.
Cllr Trevor Bridgwood put forward the motion and explained there was a need for large-scale development of BESS sites in order to mitigate the fluctuation of renewable energy due to lack of consistency with solar and wind systems.
Whilst modern, well-designed, and constructed BESS sites pose ‘very little risk’, the majority of incidents occur during the construction and commissioning phase of the development.
She said:
“It would seem that the potential risk area for a best site, construction and commissioning phase, is currently given little consideration by the current statutory consultees."
Cllr Bridgwood said although the Government updated its planning practice guidance to encourage developers and local planning authorities to consult their local Fire & Rescue Service on planning applications for BESS sites there is no defined safety regulator – ‘particularly in the riskiest part of the development’.
The motion was supported by a number of councillors and was seconded by Cllr Ian Fleetwood. He said:
“There is a need to have some level of legislation to actually ensure that the safety of the public is at the heart of all this. Whilst there is a need to have energy and whilst we can generate it through solar or wind or whatever activity, some of that energy does need to be stored but it needs to be stored in a proper and safe manner.”
The Council unanimously resolved to:
- Lobby the Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - MHCLG) to Call for Local Fire and Rescue Services to be made statutory consultees in planning applications relating to Renewable Energy Sites, specifically Battery Energy Storage System sites.
- Councillors also agreed to Write to the Local Government Association and Greater Lincolnshire Local Authorities: to Highlight the current situation and lack of oversight on such developments and request that they too lobby the Government to bring about this national change.