At its meeting on 2nd November, after taking account of the views of the residents of Benarty and the replies to the questions we put to the consultants leading the development, Benarty Community Council voted overwhelmingly to oppose the development of a battery energy storage facility on the site of the former Kirkland Farm in Ballingry immediately behind the new houses at Lochtyburn.
Our main reasons for doing so are:
Safety fears and impact on the community and environment.
- There are safety fears on the grounds of fire hazards with lithium ion batteries
- There are safety fears on the grounds of health hazards with lithium ion batteries
- There are environmental fears on the grounds of the contents of the batteries and their effect on the environment in the case of a leak
- There are environmental fears on the construction of the batteries
- There are ethical concerns about the construction of the batteries.
- There are environmental fears on the decommissioning of the batteries
- Decommissioning of the project after completion is a major task with unknown elements and risks
- There are social concerns on the loss of the area to the community
- There are concerns about the amount of projects within the vicinity
Land Ownership
- The question of ownership was evaded then refused.
- Issues about land ownership have come to light which have caused concern and raised further questions about the sale of the land.
Area of benefit and Benefit Fund
- There is optimism from the developer that this project will be given the green light perhaps even against community wishes.
- There was flat out refusal to meet Good Practise Principles for any Benefit Fund and the suggestion that the whole of the country could be the area of benefit.
The Community Council is also hoping to tie up with other Community Councils across Scotland and petitioning the Scottish and UK Parliaments to make Community Benefit Funds mandatory and legally enforceable, and for the enforceability to be retroactively backdated at least ten years.
On these matters the Community Council is adamant: –
1) as the proposed facility is one hundred percent in Ballingry the area of benefit is Benarty only;
2) the Good Practice Principles are met;
3) any fund is administered and controlled by the community or a community led body and not a third party or the developer: decisions must be made locally.
The full text of our objections, and evidence, will be made available on the Community Council’s website when they have been submitted to the Energy Consents Unit of the Scottish Parliament. This will not be until the company applies for planning permission, which is expected early in 2024.
