West Dunbartonshire Council has officially submitted its objection to a proposed battery storage site in Clydebank - which will trigger a public inquiry.
Councillors met last Wednesday to discuss their response to the planned 100MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Braidfield Farm.
Applicants ILI Group propose creating a facility that would house containers of lithium‑ion batteries along with associated infrastructure, including an access track, electricity, meter building and fencing.
The council's planning committee was asked to agree with the planning officer's recommendation to formally object to the proposal on the grounds that the applicant had not demonstrated that there was no other suitable site outwith green belt land.
The application will now be sent to the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit, where ministers will decide whether to grant or refuse permission for the site.
However, a public inquiry will now be called.
Planning officers noted at the meeting that "should the planning committee accept the recommendation to formally object to the proposed development, this will trigger a Public Local Inquiry in terms of Section 62 and Schedule 8 of the Electricity Act 1989 unless the council subsequently withdraws its objection, or the applicant subsequently withdraws the application."
Under these sections of legislation, if a local authority objects to an application, the inquiry must be held before determining the application, so ministers can consider the objection and the report of the person who held the inquiry.
Councillor William Rooney, for Kilpatrick Ward, welcomed the objection.
He said: “I welcome the fact that the council has taken a unanimous position in its response to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit to reject the Braidfield BESS.
“However, the process is far from concluded. The council is only a statutory consultee and, in my view, the most important one. But unfortunately, the final decision rests with the Energy Consents Unit and the Cabinet Secretary, not the council.
“I am disappointed that the Cabinet Secretary declined my invitation to meet the families in Hardgate and Faifley who will be severely impacted by any decision to give the green light to battery energy storage sites.”
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