The proposal could have seen 20 acres of farmland developed. It comprises part of Wickham Court Farm and the freehold owned by the Council. The farmland is part of the Green Belt land in the southern part of the borough, near Coney Hall.

The principled decision to reject the proposals at the Council’s Executive meeting in November followed interest from developers who were interested in developing battery storage facilities. The proposal, which would have affected Council-owned land at Wickham Court Farm and would be subject to planning permission, would have seen large-scale batteries being used to take power from the National Grid when there is limited demand for electricity and sold back at periods of peak electricity demand.

Cllr Alexa Michael, who is also Chairman of the Council’s Development Control Committee, said: “It was absolutely right for the Council’s Executive to reject this Green Belt proposal. Sites for renewable energy need to be considered, but not on Green Belt land. Green Belt land is precious, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”