Oldham<\/a> to take a step towards the Net Zero goal. \u2026 \u2018This kind of infrastructure is critical for the overall system of renewable energy.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Medlock](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1746092531_449_0_Medlock-Valley-Fishing-Club.jpg\")
Medlock Valley fishing pond (Image: Craig Steadman)<\/p>\n
Usually, development is only allowed on greenbelt land under a set of special circumstances – which the application did not meet. But council officers still recommended the proposal for approval under a set of \u2018very special circumstances\u2019, stating the overall environmental benefits outweighed the value of \u2018low quality greenbelt\u2019, which was formerly the site of a dye factory.<\/p>\n
But Craig Steadman, who has been leasing Medlock Valley from the council for 26 years and running it as a community fishing club, told the committee: \u201cThis isn\u2019t about opposing green technology. It\u2019s about protecting green space. The two should not be in conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis green belt space is not abstract. It\u2019s where families walk, where wildlife thrives and where our towns end. Once it\u2019s gone, it\u2019s gone forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Map](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_Map-Of-Battery-Storage-Failsworth.jpg\")
Map of the storage facility with acoustic fencing. (Image: Planning documents courtesy of Oldham Council)<\/p>\n
The fishing club also provides a safe haven for \u2018people with mental or physical health conditions\u2019, he later told the LDRS. \u201cIt\u2019s a positive, really peaceful space. People can come and have a chat with others if they feel lonely, or enjoy the quiet. It\u2019s a real little community. And there\u2019s wildlife everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really feel the battery storage site would have a detrimental impact on that because of the noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Root Power claimed the noise from the site would be \u2018quieter than ambient sound\u2019 due to acoustic fencing and that the batteries would be \u2018shielded from view by trees\u2019, and officers suggested there would be \u2018no significant impact\u2019 on the fishery.<\/p>\n
Councillors ultimately decided to reject the application, stating they were \u2018not convinced\u2019 the battery site constituted a \u2018very special circumstance\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oldham councillors were ‘not convinced’ the environmental benefits outweighed the need for green space.Medlock Valley Fishing Club is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,728,4884,2465,1286,14984,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-65334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-oldham","14":"tag-oldham-council","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114431927653610460","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Medlock](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_Medlock-Valley-Fishing-Club.jpg\")
Medlock Valley Fishing Club is adjacent to the greenbelt land. (Image: Copyright Unknown)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_Map-Of-Battery-Storage-Failsworth-Land.jpg\")
The plot of land considered for the site of a battery storage facility. (Image: Planning documents courtesy of Oldham Council)<\/p>\n