A community in eastern Perthshire has had questions over an industrial development left unanswered after a public consultation.
A meeting was held to provide information on Coronation Power’s plans to build a battery storage unit on the edge of Coupar Angus.
Blueprints were submitted to Perth and Kinross Council for 15 batteries to store excess energy from the national grid via an adjacent SSE substation more than 100 metres away.
Two representatives from Arcus Consulting, representing the energy firm, attended Coupar Angus Town Hall where 54 members of the public grilled them on technical queries relating to the development.
However, it is understood others had hoped to attend but were unable to do so due to unsuitable wheelchair access at the venue.
Coupar Angus and Bendochy community council chair Wendy McCombes attended said the London firm’s representatives stumbled at almost every question.
She said: “We had been reassured that all of our questions would be answered, but the consultation was hugely disappointing.
“It was embarrassingly disappointing for Coronation Power. The visual materials they had brought were just what had been submitted with a few maps.
“There were no 3D images or any indication of what the outside might look like. There were no diagrams to show what the access and landscaping will look like either.”
Coronation Power did not send any direct representatives, something which has angered the local community.
Wendy added: “Industrialisation is an issue that Coupar Angus has struggled against for decades, and there are a number of great organisations doing their damnedest to make the town look less industrial.
“They’d be gutted if this was approved as it would be visible from most of the town and road in.”
Fears over access, proximity to the existing substation, lorries passing, landscaping, noise, security, lighting and the batteries themselves went unanswered, and Wendy is now asking for a second consultation before PKC take the case any further.
“Coronation Power cannot say that the consultation was a success. All but one of the feedback forms, which they ran out of, showed that people were unhappy with the proposals.
“We’d like another consultation, this time with Coronation Power, in a venue that everyone can access and with a bit more preparation. ”
The Courier contacted Coronation Power’s managing director Vickram Mirchandani but he was unavailable for comment.
