Scottish council votes on revoking permission for 40-megawatt battery storage plant on greenbelt land

There have been calls for a U-turn on the decision to approve construction of a 40MW facility on greenbelt land to the east side of Glasgow Road in Eaglesham.

Campaigners who oppose the development by GPC 1337 Ltd, a subsidiary of Apatura, say they are concerned about their safety as lithium-ion batteries pose a possible fire risk.

Conservative councillors previously had a motion that pushed for revocation ruled incompetent. They returned with a request for officials to set out the necessary legal steps and cost of the revocation process.

That report has now been compiled — and all East Renfrewshire councillors are set to decide whether to pursue a revocation order on Wednesday.

An order can be opposed by the applicant, landowner or anyone else deemed to be affected, the council report states. There would likely be a public inquiry, heard by a reporter appointed by Scottish ministers.

Compensation would be payable if planning permission is modified or revoked, and can cover loss of land value as well as loss of operating profit. Revocation could be challenged in the Court of Session. The report also states a “broad indication has been given of the cost of compensating for the loss of land value in the range of £1.5m-£4m”.

Compensation for the loss of operating profit over 40 years “would be additional to these costs, but cannot be predicted by council officers”.

There would also be costs for professional and legal advice, representation at a public inquiry and a fee for a chartered surveyor to value the compensation liability and negotiate a settlement. These could range from £350,000 to £450,000, it has been estimated.

Almost 3,800 have signed a petition against the project. Apatura wants to store surplus energy from the national grid in batteries, which would then be returned when required. The firm has said the development would “support the decarbonisation of the energy industry in the UK”.

Cllr Paul Edlin, who pushed for more details on pursuing a revocation order, previously said there were “widespread” concerns locally, including over safety as there was “evidence that such batteries have a risk of catching fire”.

Mother-of-three Morag Hannan, who lives opposite the site, is planning to challenge the council’s decision to approve the plans in court.

The new report from council officials states that even if the permission is successfully revoked, another application for a battery energy storage system on the same site, by the same applicant, could be brought forward.

That application could be approved by “the council or by the Scottish ministers through the appeal system”. “Revocation would not guarantee that there would not be a battery energy storage system on this site in the future,” the report adds.

The council report states: “There is no indication that the decision made by the planning applications committee in accordance with due process and in public was grossly wrong in planning terms.”

The developers previously said the application was “accompanied by a suite of technical documents which demonstrate the proposal will not lead to significant adverse harm”.

Ahead of the meeting where planning permission was granted, council officials reported the second application differed from the original as more information has been submitted on fire safety and a water tank is now proposed to be created underground.