GO-AHEAD for a battery storage plant in Berwickshire’s major agricultural district would contribute to its “destruction”, councillors have agreed.
Scottish Borders Council has had to consider a number of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) planning bids over recent months.
When members of the council’s Planning and Building Standards Committee met on Monday, February 3, they supported a recommendation to object to the construction and operation of a BESS on farmland at Pittlesheugh Farm, about a mile north of Eccles.
The site is on an area known as The Merse, comprising the pastoral lands between the River Tweed to the south and the hill country of Lammermuir.
The development – Kelloe Mains Battery Storage System – has been designed to deliver up to 400MW of power.
Applicant The Energy Workshop say it would supply electricity to the National Grid during times of peak power demand and support other low-carbon and renewable projects to help ensure the UK meets its net zero targets.
But the majority of members – with the exception of Jedburgh & District councillor Sandy Scott – agreed to object to the proposal over the loss of “prime agricultural land”.
Mid-Berwickshire SNP councillor Donald Moffat said: “This is basically visual vandalism in an area of The Merse which is very nice for people to look at when they are passing through but for people living there it has a detrimental impact if you have too many of these things in one area.”
Conservative councillor Neil Richards, for Hawick and Denholm, said: “Having been on a site visit last week I hadn’t realised what a marvellous spectacle Berwickshire is and The Merse is a historic piece of land and we are in danger of letting the vandals get at it.”
Councill Marshall Douglas, SNP for Tweeddale East, added: “It’s a total destruction of a beautiful area of the Borders and any benefits from these storage units would not outweigh the impact they would have.”
Scottish Government will have the final say on the application.
