Judges ruled on Wednesday that the club’s appeal can be allowed, despite the council having previously granted permission for the plant to go ahead, because of flaws in the reasoning behind the planning green light. A leisure club owned by Shell is attempting to block a hydropower project at Teddington lock and weirs in west London. The project, initiated by a local cooperative group of volunteers who have raised £700,000, would generate sufficient energy to power 600 homes. In the past few years, there has been an explosion of interest in renewable energy, with solar panels on roofs becoming increasingly popular. The high court had previously rejected the club’s proposed judicial review of the scheme. The case further complicates the future of such small, cooperative, renewable projects which have already been rendered vulnerable by changes to tax and planning permission rules.
A leisure club owned by Shell is attempting to block a hydropower project at Teddington lock and weirs in west London. The project, initiated by a local cooperative group of volunteers who have raised £700,000, would generate sufficient energy to power 600 homes. In the past few years, there has been an explosion of interest in renewable energy, with solar panels on roofs becoming increasingly popular. The high court had previously rejected the club’s proposed judicial review of the scheme. The case further complicates the future of such small, cooperative, renewable projects which have already been rendered vulnerable by changes to tax and planning permission rules.