Council reject application on greenbelt land

Oldham council have rejected an ‘ironic’ application to build a storage site for green energy on ‘crucial’ greenbelt land. 

Battery firm Root Power applied to build a ‘critical’ battery system on a field near Medlock Road, Failsworth, next to Medlock Fishing Club.

But the application sparked dismay among local residents and anglers, who claimed the site would ‘ruin the tranquil environment of the nearby fishery and spoil greenbelt land’. 

Discussing the application at a planning meeting last week, councillors decided the application was ‘unsuitable’ for the location. 

Coun Peter Davis said: “After claiming we’re protecting green belt land through Places for Everyone, I can’t bring myself to vote for a development on greenbelt land.” 

And councillor Dave Murphy added: “There’s definitely an irony here, that the environmental benefits involve destroying the greenbelt.” 

Root Power claimed the development would be ‘critical’ for Greater Manchester’s green energy transition. Joe Bennett, the firm’s representative, explained how the development would store surplus solar energy so it can be fed into the electricity grid later when there’s higher demand.

The system would help provide electricity for thousands of homes, Bennett claimed. 

The representative said: “This application provides an exciting opportunity for Oldham to take a step towards the Net Zero goal. … ‘This kind of infrastructure is critical for the overall system of renewable energy.” 

Usually, development is only allowed on greenbelt land under a set of special circumstances – which the application did not meet. But council officers still recommended the proposal for approval under a set of ‘very special circumstances’, stating the overall environmental benefits outweighed the value of ‘low quality greenbelt’, which was formerly the site of a dye factory.  

But Craig Steadman, who has been leasing Medlock Valley from the council for 26 years and running it as a community fishing club, told the committee: “This isn’t about opposing green technology. It’s about protecting green space. The two should not be in conflict.

“This green belt space is not abstract. It’s where families walk, where wildlife thrives and where our towns end. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.” 

The fishing club also provides a safe haven for ‘people with mental or physical health conditions’, he later told the LDRS. “It’s a positive, really peaceful space. People can come and have a chat with others if they feel lonely, or enjoy the quiet. It’s a real little community. And there’s wildlife everywhere.

“I really feel the battery storage site would have a detrimental impact on that because of the noise.” 

Root Power claimed the noise from the site would be ‘quieter than ambient sound’ due to acoustic fencing and that the batteries would be ‘shielded from view by trees’, and officers suggested there would be ‘no significant impact’ on the fishery. 

Councillors ultimately decided to reject the application, stating they were ‘not convinced’ the battery site constituted a ‘very special circumstance’.