PLANS to build an energy storing facility on green belt land in Feckenham will be heard at Redditch’s planning committee tonight.

Energy firm Statkraft want to build the facility on green belt land south of Astwood Lane to manage energy and store battery technology.

The applicant says the project will support the flexible operation of the National Grid to balance supply and demand and help to decarbonise the electricity supply.

The development, known as a Greener Grid Park, will store, import, and export electricity but will not generate any additional electricity nor have any direct on-site emissions of CO2.

Greener Grid Parks are a collection of buildings, usually based near substations, which work to increase the amount of renewable energy transmitted through the national grid.

If passed, it will be operated remotely and proposed access to the site would be from Astwood Lane.

Statkraft, which is Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy, say the Feckenham site has been selected due to its proximity to the existing substation which was deemed most suitable after an assessment of all the substations in the region and the needs of the transmission grid in the Midlands.

Planning officers at Redditch Borough Council have recommended that the scheme should be granted, with conditions, at tonight’s meeting.

The plan has however received 21 objections and has also been objected to by Feckenham Parish Council who cited safety, location and design and environmental impact as their concerns.

Councillor Warhurst objected to the scheme on the grounds of road safety, while councillor Michael Rouse said he had concerns although he “welcomed green energy initiatives”.

His objection said: “The roads in this area are also not suitable to withstand this volume of traffic and the types of large delivery vehicles required. From whichever direction the site is approached there is insufficient infrastructure to cope with the additional demand and type of vehicles.”

If granted, the site would be built on green belt land, with the plan also including landscape enhancements and the addition of two ponds.

Recommending the scheme be approved, the planning committee report states: “It is a finely balanced decision, but it is considered that the applicant has demonstrated that very special circumstances exist which justify this proposal in the Green Belt.

"On balance, it is concluded that the environmental, economic, and social benefits that will be delivered because of this proposal are sufficient to outweigh any impact caused by inappropriate development in the Green Belt.”

The application will be put to Redditch Borough’s Council’s planning committee this evening at 7pm.