Allerton Bywater: Leeds battery farm firm hits back after council leader criticises proposals

Harmony Energy submitted a scheme to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) on greenbelt land in Allerton Bywater at the beginning of August.

But hundreds of local residents have strongly objected to the plans, as well as to a separate application by another firm to install a BESS on another site a mile away. Environmental concerns and fears over a risk of fire have fuelled opposition to both proposals.

Speaking at a public meeting in Allerton Bywater on Tuesday night, Leeds City Council leader James Lewis criticised Harmony for making no changes to their plans after residents were first consulted at the end of 2022.

Councillor Lewis, who is objecting to the plans himself as they fall in his ward, suggested the company had placed no “value” on people’s opinions.

But responding on Wednesday, Harmony said: “The public consultation carried out in November 2022 was broadly positive and attracted more support than objection.

“Had the public comments received focused on design aspects, including scale and layout, we may have amended the scheme accordingly – however this wasn’t the case and we received no reason to amend the design of the scheme.”

The company acknowledged a “couple of attendees” at last year’s event had raised concerns around the visual impact of the facility, but it insisted the landscape had been “carefully considered”.

The firm added: “As it is a small 25MW (mega-watt) site, which we had carefully landscaped already, there were few additional amendments we could make.

“In light of the West Yorkshire Fire Service and Chief Fire Commission requests on access and water supply, the plan and layout have been updated and we are working proactively with all relevant statutory bodies to address the latest fire safety guidance.

“We’ve reached out to council leader James Lewis and we are more than happy to discuss any concerns he may have or answer any questions to support the process.”

Banks is responsible for the other battery farm application, though they didn’t respond to criticism of their plans when contacted earlier this month. They received planning permission to set up a solar farm in the area in 2021 and have linked the building of the battery facility to that venture.

The deadline for public comments on Harmony’s application passed on Tuesday, although in practice residents are still able to send the council their views, before it is considered by a panel of councillors in the coming months.