At a remarkable Spelthorne BC Planning Committee meeting last Wednesday 17 September, twelve out of fourteen committee members voted against the Planning Officer’s recommendation for approval of the BESS application. The application was therefore refused, on the grounds that ‘The development is inappropriate in the Green Belt and there are no very special circumstances that outweigh the harm, contrary to Saved Policy GB1 of the Spelthorne Borough Local Plan 2001 and the NPPF 2024’.

LOSRA has always been opposed to the concept of a BESS on this Green Belt site and we, together with the Charlton Village and Shepperton Residents’ Associations, have worked hard for more than two years to understand the novel details and technicalities of what was being proposed; this has enabled us to argue knowledgably against the various versions of the proposal, as well as being able to circulate a detailed document to all the committee members ahead of the planning meeting. We also had a three-minute speaking slot during it to present just a few of our reasons for objecting.

The subsequent members’ debate on Wednesday evening covered a very wide range of topics, and it soon became apparent that few of the councillors were convinced by the argument that ‘very special circumstances’ existed to overturn the fact that the development was inappropriate in the Green Belt and would result in significant harm. This view prevailed and was reflected in the 12-2 vote against approval. This is obviously a very significant decision, but we will remain vigilant in case of an appeal or further applications being made to develop the site.