National park chiefs have warned that a planned battery energy storage system (BESS) could damage a view described as “the finest in England” by celebrated author James Herriot.
North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA) has submitted an official objection to plans for the plant on fields at South Kilvington, near Thirsk.
Applicant NatPower says its 173-acre Belmoor scheme will play an essential role in delivering clean, secure, and affordable energy for the UK.
But more than 360 responses from the public to a consultation exercise over the scheme, which has now ended, have raised objections.
Only four responses support the plans.
South Kilvington Parish Council and Thirsk Town Council have also urged North Yorkshire Council to reject the BESS plans.
In its response, NYMNPA said the lack of a full assessment of the visual impact on the landscape prevented a more detailed response.
However, it added: “Initial assessment by national park authority officers indicates that the development would be visible at a distance of between five and six kilometres from key locations along a particularly heavily used section of the Cleveland Way long-distance path, including from the top of Roulston Scar; from the ‘finest view in England’ viewing platform near Sutton Bank National Park Centre and; from the top of Whitestonecliffe above Lake Gormire.”
The park authority said its Sutton Bank visitor centre received 146,347 visitors in 2024, with the views from the escarpment over the vale being its “unique selling point”.
It added: “The total number of battery units proposed (1,096) across the two battery compounds, and amounting in themselves to over 30,000m2 footprint, is very substantial.
“White or light-coloured units of relatively high reflectivity, in the numbers proposed in this instance, would be expected to be clearly visible when viewed from elevated locations along the western fringe of the national park, resembling in practical terms two very large industrial units and, being in relatively close proximity to the national park, unsympathetic to its setting.”
The park authority, which also raised concerns about potential light pollution from the scheme, said existing large industrial units much further away in the Vale of Mowbray, including those at Leeming, were clearly visible from the western edge of the park.
NatPower said it looked forward to working with all statutory consultees as the application progresses.
A spokesperson added: “Our proposals have been carefully designed to minimise any impact on the surrounding area, including views from the North York Moors National Park.”
“We are committed to ensuring that our plans respect the local landscape, and we will provide further details in subsequent reserved matters applications in line with planning requirements.”
The view from Sutton Bank was described as the “finest in England” by Thirsk vet Alf Wight, who wrote under the pen name James Herriot, in his 1979 book James Herriot’s Yorkshire.
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