Crabtree Road Energy Storage

Strategic site location

Crabtree Road, Ballynahinch The proposed site for this project is located at lands 200m South East of No.12 Crabtree Road, Ballynahinch, BT23 8RH. This has been identified as an appropriate location due to its close proximity to the existing NIE Networks substation, distance from dwellings and other properties, and the suitability of the site in a planning context, which we explain further below. When in place, the energy storage project will be connected to the neighbouring substation via underground cable. Planning policy considerations Strategic planning policy allows new vital energy infrastructure to be built where it is needed, whilst ensuring that the objectives of conserving the environment and protecting residential amenity are taken into consideration. The Ards & Down Area Plan 2015 is the relevant local development plan. When reviewing the plan the site is shown to be clearly within the countryside, some distance south of the Ballynahinch settlement limit and beyond any designated Local Landscape Policy Area. Crabtree Road on which the proposed site for this project sits, is a minor road meaning that there are no special policies which apply to the site or the immediate surroundings. The ruins of Old Magheradrool Church and graveyard are found a distance north of the application site. There is, however, a limited relationship between the site and the old church due to both the intervening hedges and the large NIE sub-station site that lies immediately adjacent to the oval-shaped scheduled monument. Overall, the site is well integrated within the local landscape of rolling drumlins and there are no dwellings beside the proposed facility, making it an ideal place for the proposed development in planning policy terms.