A stately home best known as a filming location for the TV drama Rivals has become the focus of a local dispute after plans were revealed to build a large battery energy storage facility on its grounds.
What’s proposed
Madrid‑based renewable energy company Grenergy has applied to install a 450‑megawatt battery energy storage system on the Neston Park Estate in Wiltshire, owned by Sir James Fuller, heir to Fuller's Brewery. The scheme would place 108 shipping‑container‑sized battery units on the site alongside an electricity substation, security fencing, lighting and CCTV towers.
The Neston Park estate is owned by Sir James Fuller
Location and scale
The proposed site sits around half a mile from the village of Neston and roughly two miles south of Corsham. Grenergy says the facility could deliver enough power to run about one million homes for an hour — roughly five times the number of homes in Wiltshire.
Local objections
Neighbours have objected to the 'ugliness' of the plans for Neston Park - Christopher Jones
The application has prompted a wave of objections from residents citing concerns over noise, the risk of fire, visual impact and the loss of green habitat. One objector warned of the "extremely high risk of toxic fires" near the village; another described discovering the scheme's implications "with horror," warning that construction would damage remaining farmland, hedgerows and wildlife.
"Construction alone will obviously involve serious destruction of whatever remains of the site's green habitats and farmland and hedgerows," one resident wrote.
Wildlife concerns — bats in focus
Local ecologist Glenda Orledge and others have pointed to surveys indicating 16 species of bats use the site, including the Alcathoe bat, which is described as one of Britain's rarest mammals. Ms Orledge told planners the applicant had "failed to provide important information of direct relevance to the protection of the application site's bats," criticising the bat data for its "inadequate temporal and spatial coverage." She argued that the lack of sufficient information meant the proposal should be refused.
The Alcathoe bat is said to be one of Britain's rarest mammals - PA Wire/Cyril Schönbächler
Grenergy commissioned a bat activity survey through an environmental consultancy, which concluded that losing the open field to development was "unlikely to have a negative impact upon bat species in terms of habitat loss." That report recommended any works incorporate "wide unlit and undeveloped margins around the boundary" to protect woodland and trees used for foraging.
Developer response and next steps
A Grenergy spokesman told the BBC last year that the system's design had been "optimised according to guidance to reduce any potential risk." The Telegraph has approached Grenergy and Sir James Fuller for comment. The planning process will decide whether the safeguards proposed are sufficient to address local concerns about safety, ecology and landscape impact.
Note: Neston Park featured as the home of Lord Baddingham in Rivals, the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novels, with scenes filmed at the estate.
