Plans to build a third battery energy storage system (BESS) in a village have been recommended for refusal, despite its "important role" in addressing climate change.

Clearstone Energy's proposed 300-megawatt facility is due to be discussed by Dartford council's development control board on Thursday (October 16).

The London-based firm submitted its plans for the £200 million project, dubbed the Dartford Energy Hub, on farmland off Station Road, between Southfleet and Northfleet, earlier this year.

If approved, it would see rows of batteries alongside a substation and access roads near the A2 with a cable connected to the nearby Northfleet substation.

The facility, near the Pepper Hill Recycling Centre and Millbrook Garden Centre, would store excess electricity when generation from solar and wind farms is higher than demand and release it back into the grid when it is needed.

It is said the project would displace 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from gas-fired power plants each year, equivalent to planting 1.9 million trees.

According to the submitted planning documents, the scheme, which could hold enough power for hundreds of thousands of homes, would have a lifespan of 40 years and become operational in 2028.

Development manager at Clearstone Energy, Sam Thomson, said schemes like this are "vital" if the country is to meet its climate change targets.

He added: "Battery storage projects such as the Dartford Energy Hub will help us make the most of our wind and solar farms and reduce our reliance on gas-fired power stations.

"The project would be capable of storing energy equivalent to one hour of power for all the homes in Dartford, Gravesham and Sevenoaks boroughs and provide increased security of energy supply for the local area."

Dartford council planning officers acknowledged that the 9.4-hectare project would help address climate change and said it would have an "important role" in the transition to low-carbon energy.

However, their decision report, due to be discussed by councillors, identified a "significant level of harm" which would "persist over a considerable number of years" and concluded that would outweigh the potential benefits of the development.

They said the design, layout, height and siting of the BESS and "intensity" of development would be "detrimental to the rural character" of the area.

Officers also took issue with the "signifcant engineering works", which would include excavations, proposed to re-profile and raise the land.

The report added: "The re-grading of the land will result in unnatural variations in the levels of the land, steep banks at varying gradients, and unnatural, perfectly flat platforms, alien to the gentle undulation of the land as it currently lies."

Clearstone Energy also drew up proposals for four vehicle access points which would involve clearing the existing vegatatioin, something that was not supported by officers.

The decision report said it would lead to a "significant urbanising effect" and have a "harsh impact" on the character and appearance of the area.

It added: "The proposed development would greatly alter and harm the rural character and appearance of the site and its surroundings to its significant detriment."

However, officers did state that the project would be acceptable in terms of being built on the Metropolitan Green Belt and most versatile agricultural land, despite concerns from some residents.

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A similar plan for a BESS on land off Foxhounds Lane, in Southfleet, however, was rejected earlier this year, as there were no special circumstances to justify the development on the green belt.

If councillors decide to go against the officers' recommendations and approve the Dartford Energy Hub it will become the third BESS to be approved in the area.

Elsewhere plans have been approved for a BESS on land east of New Barn Road and another on land at Broadditch Farm.

Plans for major energy storage facility 'among UK's biggest' set to be rejected