Plans for an energy storage station could have a detrmental effect on an important green corridor in West Leeds, an Armley councillor has claimed.
CJ Energy wants to site 25 battery storage containers on land partly used for caravan storage in Redcote Lane, together with substation cabins, an open transformer plant and a feeder substation building.
Access to the site would be from Redcote Lane to the east and Wyther Lane to the west.
But Cllr Alison Lowe (Lab, Armley) is opposing the development, which could be decided at next Thursday’s south and west plans panel meeting.
She says the development could have a negative effect on health, connectivity and a green corridor that connects Armley Park and Gotts Park to the West of the Leeds–Liverpool Canal with the Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve to the East, and with new wildlife areas near Burley Mills.
Cllr Lowe also says inner city areas such as Armley and Kirkstall have higher than average mortality rates, incidences of suicide and mental health problems and the proposal would reduce the opportunities for walking, cycling and other outdoor physical activity.
Eight letters of objection have been received from members of the public, raising a number of concerns, including the effect of noise on boat residents moored on the River Aire.
The application is near the site of Kirkstall Power Station, which was demolished and the land restored during the 1980s.
Council planning officers are recommending that councillors approve the application next week, subject to a raft of conditions. A planning officer’s report concludes:
“The loss of this greenspace has also been weighed against the site’s non-greenspace function. After careful consideration, on balance it is considered that there are no other material planning considerations, including those issues of principle, which are considered to outweigh the benefits of the proposed development in this particular instance.”
The report can be read in full here.
