Burstall
Parish Council
Parish Council
Parish Council
A video of part of the area we are trying to protect before it's too late.
This clip is part of a wider programme to create an inventory of the whole area and take advice on how best to protect it. The clip specifically shows the ancient and historic route of Cook’s Lane with the ancient woodlands of Elms Grove and Round Wood in the distance. It also offers a glimpse of the copse which Alcemi developers did not include in their scoping report and which is of local significance due to its age, history and wildlife interest.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Safety Concerns: Battery storage sites carry risks of fire and chemical hazards. Placing such a facility close to our homes puts residents at unnecessary risk. Current regulations state that only one fire in one container needs to be considered, however a recent run-away fire at a BESS in Tilbury lasted days and there is still no viable plan to remove contaminated water. The planned BESS is 5x the size of Tilbury and will have hundreds of containers.
• Cumulative impacts: This BESS will be the first development south of the substation, impinging on the rural quiet of Burstall, however the cumulative impact of this project, the National Grid pylon projects, solar farm and other BESS projects are huge.
What We Are Currently Doing
1. Lobbying politicians to consider all developments at the Bramford Substation site as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), which will bring increased scrutiny, central ownership and accountability.
2. Ensuring the applicant’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is complete and accurate, by instructing Richard Buxton solicitors and 4 expert consultants covering the risks to air and water contamination, landscape and heritage impacts, and noise. The solicitor successfully opposed a similar development by correctly highlighting the risks.
3. Raising concerns about the Resilience, Continuity & Safety of the Bramford Substation site. If 20-30% of the UK’s power passes through this site, what happens when it fails and what is being done to disperse and conceal the risk?
4. Requesting a moratorium on all new development at the Bramford Substation site until an adequate risk assessment is completed. There is currently a moratorium on all BESS in Scotland.
5. Developing relationships with other protest groups. Gain strength from increased numbers and learn from their successes.
What We Need
• Help, support and ideas from you:
o What expertise do you have and can you offer?
o What time can you give to help fight this development?
o Fund-raising – our initial response has been funded by the Parish Council and private donors, however we are going to have to build a much larger fund to pay for the required ongoing professional advice. How can you help and what ideas do you have?
Let’s Draw the Line—Protect Our Village and Our Countryside We can make a difference – Burstall Parish Council has in the past three years succeeded in reducing the ENSO solar panels project from 100 to 35 acres, and 2 years ago we raised successful objections to a 15 metre high phone mast in the centre of the village. Our voice can make a difference! Thank you for standing with your community.
Burstall protest over Bramford energy infrastructure plans.
