Bingley Rural’s Conservative councillors are supporting residents who are fighting plans for a battery energy storage system on greenbelt land on the edge of Cullingworth.
Amberside Energy Ltd is planning to build a a 200-megawatts unit that would be connected to the electricity grid via an underground cable that links up with the Bradford West substation.
Ward Councillor Geoff Winnard said: ‘Residents are very worried about the health and safety risks of a fire hazard close to residential housing. The proposed site, next to an old landfill area which still emits methane, is clearly an unsuitable location for large battery units and electromagnetic machinery which have elsewhere been associated with fire risks. I would urge the developer to reconsider this misguided proposal and seek a more realistic location elsewhere.’
Fellow Ward Councillor Paul Sullivan said that in supporting local residents ‘We are not NIMBYS or Luddites. If our green and pleasant ward must have these batteries for the greater good, we absolutely insist on them being located away from people and their homes’.
It is expected that Amberside Energy will submit a planning application to Bradford Council later this year.
