Valerie attends Chapel Lane Residents meeting

I attended a meeting organised by the Beacon Action Group to discuss the proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on Chapel Lane. The meeting was held at the Great Barr Memorial Hall and was well attended.  The proposal is to build a battery storage system on the Green Belt and in a conservation area. The leaflet that was distributed was not sent to all the residents who may be affected and this was an initial “consultation”.  I do not consider this to be appropriate development on the green belt and should be taken no further. 

I undertook to write to the company as there was no one by the end of the meeting who supported this proposal. Many residents said they had written to the company via the email address given on the leaflet but have had no response. This is unacceptable. The use of this land will be tied up for the next 40 years and would not be returned to grazing land as it is currently used. There has been no explanation as to why green belt land will be used when there may be other brownfield sites or sites near to the Grid where electricity will be fed in. There has to be a further consultation if and when the company put in a planning application.