Nottinghamshire villagers have been angered as greenbelt land is set to be lost for a project they say 'won't be nice to look at'. Two battery storage facilities, which would store electricity to support the National Grid in balancing electricity supply and demand, could be built on farmland off Common Lane, Bramcote, if councillors follow a recommendation to approve the plan on June 7.
The application site is 4.38 hectares, which is about six times the size of Nottingham Forest's City Ground's pitch, with approximately two hectares of this being dedicated to the storage facility, 1.7ha for landscaping and tree planting, and the remainder for the subterranean cable routing. This potential loss of greenbelt land has aggravated locals, who believe the space should be left undeveloped, with 124 objections lodged against the plan.
John Smart, 70, who is self-employed and lives on Valmont Road, said: “No one has discussed whether or how articulated vehicles will get in or out. What happens if it causes more congestion on the roads, that’s another problem. It raises lots of safety concerns with us residents.”
