Councillors approved plans to build a new battery storage unit in Nairn -- despite voicing concerns over risks in the eventuality of a fire.

Plans submitted by energy company Anesco sought permission to build a battery energy storage system (BESS), which will include 15 storage cabinets and 10 medium voltage transformer containers and capable of storing up to 30MW of electricity, on land south of Blackpark House, to the east of Nairn.

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This is one of five planning applications (two of which have already been approved) submitted to Highland Council in the same area.

However, although the overall number of applications was raised as an issue during the discussion by Nairn and Cawdor councillors Barbara Jarvie and committee chair Paul Oldham, the planning reporter stated that the only material consideration was for the individual application.

This comes despite growing concerns over the increase in projects for renewable energy facilities currently at the planning stage or in the pipeline across the region, which recently saw community councils across the Highlands rallying up in a bid to halt the number of planning applications flooding in and impacting rural communities.

The Anesco battery storage facility was recommended for approval by the council's reporter, on the basis that its benefits would "outweigh potential harm caused by the development" and that it would not be "significantly detrimental", with "potential to play a role in addressing supply and demand peaks and troughs within the electricity transmission network".

But during the meeting of the South Planning Application Committee yesterday, councillor Jarvie raised serious concerns over the risk of a fire spreading in the area -- particularly in relation to the landscaping and additional trees to be planted as part of the planning proposal -- which she said could constitute a fireline should a fire break out of the site.

"My concern is that this is in a field where for the access, in and out, we have a route that comes round like a loop - however, if there was to be an incident, we would have the ecological planting of trees and grasses is going to create a fire line towards the woodland areas and across the road, to the woodland in the rut surrounding businesses," she said.

"I wonder if the environmental policies are compatible with fire safety policies for this type of development, because you are also planting trees that will be established up there, and we need to learn a lesson from what happened on the Dava Moor, where fire literally jumped across the roads and kept the fire burning and spreading."

She added her concerns about access for fire and rescue services to the affected area -- alongside the lack of direct benefit for the community

Councillors were told that the site was planned with space between battery units as well as from the surrounding vegetation to reduce the risk of a fire spreading to the surrounding area, with modern technology designed to contain the fire.

The report stated that the proposal is considered to be in general accordance with guidance provided by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) on best practice with regard to BESS.

Councillor Jarvie also raised the issue of the cumulative impact of the development in context with the other proposed for the area.

She said: "Is there sufficient capacity for all 5 BESS going into that power station?

"Can they all plug in at the same time? It makes quite a difference, because it might be a pointless application."

Responding to this, case officer Julie-Ann Bain said that they don't know "what may or may not" come forward in the future and that they had to "assess the application that's in front of us".

Objections to the proposal were received over the past months by Nairn River Community Council, as well as Grigorhill Business Group (GBG). No objection was submitted by nearby residents.

In the end, Nairn councillor and chair of the committee Paul Oldham said that, although he had concerns about the application and that he felt the number of applications in the area "seemed like overdevelopment", these did not constitute valid planning considerations -- "reluctantly" proposing the application.