Protesters opposing an approved planning application for a standby gas generator, on land close to Midsomer Enterprise Park, Midsomer Norton, joined Town Councillors on Monday evening to ask for back-up to a campaign that has gained over 1,500 signatures and reportedly, support from the Duchy of Cornwall.

Local people attending the meeting held up placards to camera whilst Councillors debated what could be done over a decision that was seemingly rubber-stamped during the first lockdown earlier in the year. The site has already seen protests from Extinction Rebellion to bring attention to the cause and a petition will be presented to the applicants, Conrad Energy, on Wednesday this week, prior to a second national lockdown which comes in to force on Thursday.

Town Councillors asked to know why the application, which received fifty-five objections, did not go to a full planning committee to be debated but was approved by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the B&NES Planning Committee to delegate the decision to Council officers instead, who ruled in favour of the application.

Cllr Steve Plumley asked for the Town Council to write to the local authority to ask why a consultation process had not been followed. Cllr Michael Evans, who is also the B&NES Councillor for the ward of the application, argued that procedure had been followed and abstained from the vote.

Councillors agreed to view the open letter after the meeting and sign it in a personal capacity if they wished to do so.

Many of the residents spoke at the meeting against the generator plans. One said: “The Council, on its website, gives tips on how to reduce carbon emissions. We have eight years to get these down to zero. You cannot ask residents to cut down on their own carbon emissions if you support this application.

“It cannot be up to the good people of Midsomer Norton to cut their own emissions when businesses are allowed to operate in this way. The only beneficiary of this scheme is a company in Oxford. My question to the Council, is what are you going to do to stand up to this project?”

Others urged the Town Council to “do the right thing for local people and the planet,” expressing their concern over noise and air pollution. Midsomer Norton Town Council did object to the plans during lockdown, but not unanimously, as Cllr Michael Evans pointed out.

He said: “B&NES did try and deal with it. Indeed, it was a cross party decision to defer to officers’ expertise, with both a Conservative and Lib-Dem looking at it.

“The only way to overturn a successful planning application is with a successful judicial review. I would advise against the Town Council doing that. It is an expensive option and the grounds don’t look good, as procedure was followed.

“We are basically left with the normal democratic gestures that the members of public are making now. You can argue that the standby gas generator is a positive, as it is a switch towards sustainable sources of energy.

“We have to have standby generators – a battery generator alternative to gas would be going in the right way. The drawback with battery is that it is limited in the time that it can work, so if you have a real emergency, the battery will run out. So you don’t have the flexibility that gas provides – but I don’t see why the public shouldn’t argue for it.

“Lead in petrol was pretty deadly. The pollutants that we are confronted with are described by experts as negligible. To my mind, you have to take that with some weight.

“As a Town Council Planning committee, we were not unanimous in our decision. There’s a moral question on the other side as well, so I remain balanced on this subject.”

Cllr Plumley added: “I objected to this mainly in relation to the location – in my opinion, it is completely in the wrong position. I wasn’t necessarily against the generator, but I am being told a battery type could be better.

“This is so contentious that it should have gone to the full Planning Committee. For B&NES to just pass it to Council Officers rather than have it debated, in my opinion, is totally wrong.

“Any emissions of carbon are out of order – who is to know how many times of year it will be on? Just a few times is too many.”

Cllr Richard Robertson said that perhaps Conrad Energy could be approached to come up with a more environmentally acceptable plan. A battery operated option had also been discussed.

Town Councillor Gordon Mackay said more concern should be shown for vehicle pollution rather than the proposed gas generators. He said: “I didn’t object to the plans at the time. I don’t buy in to the necessity for the country to reduce carbon emissions in the short term.

“I was never aware that burning natural gas was particularly polluting. I’ve always been much more concerned about the pollution of car exhausts.

“As you drive around Midsomer Norton, you can see the effect of car fumes on buildings. So, you could argue the close proximity of Welton School to the road is more polluting.

“This generator is only for emergency use - yet no-one is proposing the school is moved or the road closed because of car exhausts.

“Would people prefer a potential energy blackout? One has to give. In the absence of alternatives, this sounds like the best solution.”

Councillor Mackay said that he had been working with B&NES’ Environmental Department and proposed that if the development could not now be stopped, following its approval in April, monitoring could take place on the site to make sure it was not dangerous. This proposal was voted for unanimously.

Cllr Steve Plumley also proposed that B&NES Council be written to by the Town Council to scrutinise this planning application’s process. The proposal was was voted through but with three Councillors abstaining.

Permission expires for the planning application by April 2023. In its planning report submitted to the Local Authority, the National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios says: ‘The future of gas use is considered to be a major factor for national decarbonisation efforts.

‘The role of natural gas for domestic and commercial heating is expected to undergo significant changes between now and 2050. However, developments in the production of hydrogen and green gas for these sectors over the next thirty years are not expected to significantly influence the use of natural gas for electricity generation. Battery projects to date are short duration and generate for two hours or less.’