Agenda

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Full Council held on 2 September 2024.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

Setting out the current position of previously agreed actions as at 25 October 2024.

i)               Chairman of Council

ii)              Leader of the Council

iii)            Head of Paid Service

Questions, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

Questions, if received, under this Scheme will be published by way of supplement following closure of the deadline.

Motion 1  - The development and planning approval process in respect of Battery Electric Storage System (BESS) sites.

The need to switch to renewable energy is well established.  As a result, there is a need for large scale development of BESS sites in order to mitigate the fluctuation of renewable energy due to the lack of consistency with solar and wind systems.

A modern well designed and constructed BESS site is, in all probability of very little risk. Based on analysis of incidents involving BESS sites, the majority of incidents occur during the construction and commissioning phase of development.

Generally, the planning process is concerned about the impact of developments in an area when they have been completed.

As such it would seem that the potential risk area for a BESS site, (Construction & Commissioning phase) is currently given little consideration by the current statutory consultees.

The Government published a research briefing on 19 April 2024 https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7621/CBP-7621.pdf . 

However, it would appear this provides little clarity and raises further questions (See comments by Paul Christensen, Director Lithiumionsafety Ltd Consultancy in background information attached.

In August 2023 the Government updated its planning practice guidance to encourage developers and local planning authorities to consult their local Fire & Rescue Service on planning applications for BESS sites.

The National Fire Chiefs Council produce a guidance document in April 2023 which was reviewed in July 2024 and went through consultation which closed on 22 August 2024. The final version is yet to be published.  https://nfcc.org.uk/consultation/draft-grid-scale-energy-storage-system-planning-guidance/

However, the Local Fire Authority (LFA) is not a statutory consultee for planning applications and therefore they do not have to be consulted and even if they are consulted their feedback is only advisory.  Furthermore, they are not funded to respond to such consultations which can create capacity issues.

As such currently there is no defined safety regulator.

Even the statutory consultees who are consulted review the applications based on the final site, rather than the Health & Safety issues that could arise during construction and commissioning, the riskiest part of the development. Highways do not consider the implications of a major fire on the local highway network nor the risk of contaminated run-off water in the event of a fire, neither does The Environment Agency.

This technology is fairly new, and development is very fast moving (see background information for number of sites), so there is a lack of legislative control in place. too stricter regime risks tying up the developing industry.

Given the current situation Council resolves to :

• Lobby the Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to make Local Fire Authorities statutory consultees in respect of planning applications relating to Renewable Energy Sites and specifically Battery Electric Storage System sites.

• Writes to the Local Government Association and Greater Lincolnshire Local Authorities to highlight the current situation and lack of oversight on such developments and request that they too lobby the Government to bring about this national change.

I so move

Councillor Trevor Bridgwood

Motion 2  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.