Stoke-on-Trent battery energy storage site given go-ahead

A battery energy storage site has secured planning approval.

The two-acre provision is set for greenbelt land next to the former Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in Stoke-on-Trent.

The site could be a power source to more than 140,000 homes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Plans by Chatterley Energy Storage Limited were approved by Stoke-on-Trent City Council on Wednesday.

The authority had deferred the decision in June after concerns were raised about impact on the area's heritage, but a council report said the "special circumstances" of the application outweighed building on greenbelt.

Battery energy storage allows renewable energy, like solar and wind, to be stored and then released when the power is needed most.

Councillor Andy Platt said: "This is the right location and it doesn't do damage to the heritage; at the moment, it is a big field.

"We have approved a neighbouring site for generation and there have been other encroachments in this area on to what would have been greenbelt land - perhaps more significant than this one."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]