Planning Committee agrees Council objection to BESS at Pitcox

Committee members unanimously agreed to submit an objection to the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on agricultural land at Pitcox. Abei Energy Group Ltd has submitted an application to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit and East Lothian Council is a statutory consultee. The application includes a compound containing 80 energy storage containers which are intended to provide electricity for export to the grid from batteries which will store surplus electricity to be fed into the grid when required at short notice. The council’s consultation response was called off the Committee Expedited List by Councillor Collins to allow for a full discussion at committee due to local concerns over the safety of the site. East Lothian Council received one objection to the proposed development which cited loss of agricultural land, detrimental visual effects, fire and pollution risk and noise at surrounding properties.

While the principle of the Pitcox BESS is acceptable, East Lothian Council objects to the proposal for various reasons including lack of information and assessment within the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment; likely loss of hedgerows important to the character of the area; absence of a cumulative noise impact assessment; insufficient information on surface water flooding; and concerns around proposed access arrangements for the site not meeting the council’s visibility requirements. An additional objection was added – that there was insufficient information on flood protection measures – following a proposal by Councillor McIntosh which was unanimously approved. The council has recommended that the applicant is offered the opportunity to amend their proposal and to submit further information to overcome these objections and that the council should be consulted on any amended proposals. If the council’s objections are not resolved then the application will likely go to a public inquiry.

An application by Walker Homes to increase the number of houses they intend to build on land at Windygoul South, Tranent, was approved unanimously. Original plans had stated there would be no more than 561 homes on the site but that has now increased to 577. A total of five objections had been received, raising concerns including the impact on local infrastructure, potential flooding and traffic issues.

Consent was unanimously granted for Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd to build 84 houses and nine flats on the wider Dolphingstone expansion site, to the south and east of Wallyford. No objections had been received.  

Details of an onshore converter station and underground cables on land near Dunbar Landfill Site at Oxwell Mains were also unanimously approved. SP Energy Networks has been granted outline planning consent in May 2023 for the station, which will support the wider Eastern Link 1 project, a subsea link between Scotland and County Durham enabling the transmission of renewable energy. Committee members agreed to approve details of the layout, design and external appearance of the converter station.

Members voted unanimously to continue an application for six glamping pods at Boggs Holdings, Pencaitland, to allow the applicant to consider some of the concerns raised by local residents and during the discussion at committee. Planners had recommended approval of the application but it was called off the Scheme of Delegation by Councillor McGuire due to the large number of objections and concerns raised. The application for change of use of land east of 23A Boggs Holdings from the keeping of horses to the siting of six glamping pods for holiday let will now be heard at a future meeting of the Planning Committee. The application had received 35 objections and one neutral comment, with an objection from the Boggs Community Association signed by 62 people. Grounds of objection included an unacceptable change to the distinctive character and landscape of Boggs Holdings; the glamping pods would appear incongruous in the rural setting; the site not being accessible by public transport resulting in reliance on cars, an unsuitable access road and adverse impact on residents from additional noise, fumes and smells.

The relevant application numbers are: Pitcox, 25/00001/SGC; Windygoul South, 25/00236/PM and 18/00937/PPM; Dolphingstone, 24/00200/AMM and 15/00537/PPM; Dunbar, 25/00083/AMM and 22/00852/PPM; and Boggs Holdings, 24/01122/P.