Local group Evolve Penrith have lodged a formal object to a planning application submitted by Westmorland and Furness Council to itself as the local planning authority for a proposed storage shed, generator base only, fencing and landscaping that the council have now added plans for an Industrial diesel generator located over the boundary wall from Penrith’s Coronation Garden the Evolve Group claim.
The group has said it has submitted objections to the council on the grounds that the original application consulted on by Penrith Town Council and other consultees was an application submitted by Westmorland and Furness Council only for a “storage shed, generator base only along with fencing and landscaping.”
Since the consultation was responded to by Penrith Town Council and others Westmorland and Furness council has made additions to the application documentation on the 5th of February 2025, to include details of an industrial diesel generator that documents claim will store a supply of diesel capable of operating the generator for a 14-hour period.
The proposed industrial diesel engine generator will consume during operation at 100% load capacity the Evolve Group claim approximately 55 litres of diesel per hour resulting in a 14 hour period a diesel storage capacity requirement of at least 770 litres of fuel on the site.
In a statement the group have said that “Control of Pollution Regulations (COPSR) requires any business that stores more than 201 litres of diesel to obtain an oil storage certificate from their local council. This certificate confirms that your storage facilities comply with regulations. As the Health and Safety at Work Act outlines, you must also ensure your fuel is stored safely and securely.”
“The council’s application to itself contains no details around the safe storage facilities that comply with regulations or Health and Safety measures including fire control measures. Given the generator will be located in very close proximity to a public building a public open park area and Penrith Town a historic listed building and located next to a public carpark all located inside the Penrith conservation area.”
“A detailed plan on pollution control and health and safety should be a basic inclusion in the council’s application to itself.”
“Evolve Penrith are also concerned that no noise impact assessment has been included as part of this application by the council given the existing outstanding discharge of conditions linked to noise impacts of the roof top mounted equipment on Voreda House already causing neighbouring residents issues.”
“Given the addition of the generator noise issues will only be made worse for neighbouring residents during hours of operation.”
The group has also questioned the requirement for the diesel generator to be fuelled given the requirement for a HGV to deliver diesel to fill the tank and potentially having to make multiple delivery in prolonged periods of usage of the generator by the council and the lack of space for a HGV to turn that will require any vehicle delivering diesel in bulk to either reverse into our out onto the public highway.
The group has said “given the nature of the generator it will have a carbon footprint that brings into question the net zero credentials of Voreda House and the councils net zero goals” and added “The council should explore alternative options to the substantial industrial diesel generator including consideration to the usage of battery storage linked to Voreda house solar array and could also be substituted with direct charge from the grid to provide a resilient supply during power outages in the area.”
Evolve Penrith would suggest that the council would be better making an investment into a local battery storage facility linked to the new solar arrays the council is planning around Penrith with battery storage capacity that would benefit the wider community rather than just a single diesel generator to keep the lights on in Voreda House when Penrith goes dark.
Evolve Penrith said that it will consider calling in the application to the secretary of state for consideration given the nature of the application, the applicant and the potential noise and environmental impact it could have on the local area.
Speaking on the application Town Mayor Doug Lawson said Westmorland and Furness Council had spent what seemed like forever building and renovating Voreda House to make it reach PassivHaus standard and now they were planning on putting a large steel shed in the car park, along with a generator.
“I just feel like we are moving backwards. I find it very frustrating that they are going to have what is probably, I am assuming, a diesel generator to power a building that is supposed to be self-sufficient and saving money,”
Scott Jackson, chairman of the town council’s planning committee, added: “Is this included in the footprint calculations of the PassivHaus?”
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “The generator is needed purely as an emergency back-up in the event of a power outage affecting the area and impacting the services our teams deliver on behalf of the public.
“We would endeavour to keep any additional noise from its very occasional operation to a minimum by installing the generator in a weather-proof acoustic enclosure.”
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