Concerns that Scottish county could become a ‘concrete jungle’

Councillors have raised concerns after at least six recent battery storage-related planning applications were submitted to Scottish Borders Council for the Berwickshire area.

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are an emerging technology that the Scottish Government recognises as playing an essential part in the mixture of energy technologies that are required as part of the nation’s transition to a Net Zero energy sector.

Pictured: A battery farm development approved in East Lothian (Image: Richard Webb on Geograph) Both national and local planning policies state that development proposals for all forms of renewable energy technologies which include BESS development should be supported, subject to the assessment on the merits of the proposal which include impacts on the environment, communities and historic environment.

But there is growing unease, particularly in Berwickshire, at the long-term negative impact battery storage will have in terms of “industrialising” the area.

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There have been no less than six recent battery storage-related planning applications submitted to Scottish Borders Council centred specifically around Eccles electricity substation, two of which have already been approved and four which are currently outstanding.

If all six are approved they would cover an area 14 times the footprint of Leitholm Village and all would be sited on prime agricultural land.

One of the bids pending is a proposed BESS at Pittlesheugh Farm (pictured below) on land west of Springwells Farmhouse, the refusal of which opponents see as key to at least bringing about a pause in the growing number of applications.

(Image: Richard Webb, via Geograph) Conservative Borders MP John Lamont is one of those who has raised his concerns regarding over-capacity.

Now East Berwickshire Independent councillor James Anderson (below) is aiming to raise the profile of the issue.

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Anderson has put together a motion to be debated at the next council meeting.

Berwickshire Area Partnership is also to address the concerns when members meet in December.

Anderson has joined forces with Bob Hope, chair of Leitholm, Eccles and Birgham Community Council, who also believes there is “no justification” for further BESS applications to be supported in the vicinity of Eccles substation.

Scottish Borders Council does not have the final say on the BESS bids, that rests with the Government’s Energy Consents Unit.

‘There’s only so much an area can take’

Anderson said: “The Scottish Government are allowing all these works to go ahead and Scottish Borders Council is just a consultee. They can go against it the majority of the time but the Scottish Government can just overturn it.

“We need the Scottish Government to realise that they can’t industrialise our community without our permission.

“There’s only so much an area can take before you get to breaking point.

“People don’t move to the Scottish Borders for battery storage units and pylons and there has to be a period when you have taken your share and are at maximum capacity for windmills for example.

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“How many more windmills can we have in the hills before there is no scenery here that people move here for?

“All the concrete plinths that they’ve used for the batteries, they have to be a certain grade of concrete which has a lifespan of something like 200 years.

“Not all the planning applications have a clear up after 25 years and what we don’t want is our areas being a concrete city in 25 to 30 years when they move the batteries away and leave all this concrete.

“There is not enough thought about that, they’re just thinking about making as much money as possible.”