Setback for opponents to new power plant

A COMPANY which wants to build a small gas-fired power plant near Goring will not have to conduct detailed research on the impact on its surroundings.

Dozens of residents have objected to the proposal by Balance Power Projects for four generators and a large battery in a field by the Thames Water sewage plant off Wallingford Road.

They say it would cause air pollution, pose a noise nuisance and spoil views of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty..

But South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, says these arguments don’t require further investigation before it considers the application next month.

The plant would generate energy to cover periods when renewable sources aren’t contributing to the National Grid.

Balance, of Merseyside, says it would screen it with new planting but opponents say this isn’t good enough as it would take 15 years of growth to fully conceal it.

Goring and South Stoke parish councils and the Campaign to Protect Rural England have objected while the Chilterns Conservation Board has called for more screening.