Councillors have put off making a decision on plans for a battery storage site in the Staffordshire Moorlands due to fire safety concerns.

Enso Energy's planning application for a battery energy storage system (BESS) on Green Belt land near Bagnall had been recommended for approval.

But planning committee members at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council said they needed more assurances over the scheme's fire safety. They voted to defer the application to a later meeting to allow further consultation with the fire service.

The development at Greenfields, off Thorney Edge Road, would consist of 12 groups of up to 22 battery containers and other components, with an underground connection to the Cellarhead substation, 400m away.

Planning officers recommended the application for approval, saying that 'very special circumstances' exist to justify the Green Belt development, due to the BESS supporting the transition to renewable energy.

Richard Moore, speaking for the applicants, told the committee that battery storage provided the 'mortar in the wall' of renewables.

He said: "We know that renewable electricity generation can be intermittent, and we manage this intermittency in supply with energy storage.

"Significant weight should be attached to meeting the UK's international commitments and the government's statutory target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 100 per cent by 2050.

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"The report prepared by your officers is clear: the harms associated with the development are clearly outweighed by benefits it will deliver. The site is an optimum location for the development."

The council received 58 objections to the proposals, with opponents raising concerns over fire safety, the destruction of the landscape and the loss of farmland.

Objector Julia Podmore told the committee that planning authorities should apply 'extreme caution' with applications such as this due to the fire risks.

She said: "Cumulative industrialisation of the countryside, the proximity to homes and the permanent change to the character of this area are not welcome. We understand the importance of energy infrastructure and renewable energy but national need does not automatically make every site appropriate."

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service did not object to the application, but recommended that any BESS should comply with guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council.

The application included a battery storage safety management plan, and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority has confirmed that 'there are no outstanding matters at this stage'.

Planning officers recommended that 30 conditions be attached to the approval, including two relating to fire safety. But committee members said they were still not satisfied over the fire safety issue, and requested further information.

Councillor Tony Holmes said: "There are a number of issues with this. As has been said, if the wind is in the wrong direction the fire service won't be able to get there. The fire service need proper access. We need more information from the fire service on how they're going to handle cases like this."

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The committee also asked for the applicants to consider dispersing excavated material in the area, instead of removing it via heavy goods vehicles.