A NEW battery storage facility looks set to be approved on land near Carlisle - despite concerns raised by the local parish council.

Plans will be decided on the 'full planning permission for the construction and installation of a 400MW battery energy storage system (BESS) with boundary fencing, access track, landscaping and other associated infrastructure' at Low Harker.

The plans will be decided on at a Cumberland council planning committee meeting on Wednesday, July 17 at the Copeland Centre in Whitehaven, with officers recommending that the application is granted with conditions.

Rockcliffe Parish Council have previously requested that the developer provide effective screening and noise attenuation.

The parish council recommended a raised bank and significant depth of natural re-forestation to promote wildlife conservation around the site.

The parish council raised concerns that the 'NWR / Brampton skips did not heed this advice and have been subject to numerous complaints from parishioners over the years they’ve been operating within the parish.'

An officer's reports said that they had noted the Rockcliffe Parish Council concerns in its consultation response which recommends the developer provide effective noise attenuation citing issues on other sites within the vicinity. However the report said that 'the council’s Environmental Health Officer does not share its concerns'.

The new battery storage facility, should it be approved, will feed energy into the Harker Substation.

It is expected that the site will have a lifespan of around 40-50 years and will be fully decommissioned when the useful life of the facility is reached the site is set to be decommissioned. The applicant says that at this point the land will then be available to return to agricultural land.

Documents supporting the application said: "National and local planning policy supports the development of renewable energy resources where impacts are or can be made acceptable and the government has recognised the need to not only harness the energy from renewable sources but also to ensure that the power can maintain a secure network of power supply through flexible energy storage."