THREE residents of Byley launched a High Court challenge this week, against plans to build a £100m gas storage facility in underground caverns near their homes.
John Oakley, Lillian Worthington and James Bennion are asking Mr Justice Davis to quash the planning consent for ScottishPower's scheme granted in May, and to order Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott - in charge of planning in his role as First Secretary of State - to have the matter reconsidered.
The villagers claim that the proposal to store more than 200,000 tonnes of methane gas in eight rock salt caverns at the nearby ICI-owned Holford Brinefields conflicts with the local development plan.
They say that when Mr Prescott, working together with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, gave the go-ahead for the scheme, he failed to consider both the availability of alternative sites and the adverse effects of the facility upon the character and appearance of the surrounding countryside.
ScottishPower plans to store 5.65 billion cubic feet of natural gas at high pressure in the specially designed salt caverns, located 600m underground. At times of high demand, the gas will be pumped from the caverns by three huge compressors.
But residents who live near the proposed gas wellheads and the processing plant claim that the project will have a 'significantly harmful effect upon the countryside over a substantial period'.
The villagers also say that the proposed development will cause 'real risks' to public health and safety.
In papers before the court, they claim: 'These fears will have land-use consequences in the way that people choose to use their land and use the area, and they have clear physical and physiological effects.'
The three locals are joined in the legal action by Cranage Parish Council, one of 21 local councils to oppose the plans.
ScottishPower, which operates another gas storage plant at Hatfield Moor, Yorkshire, is one of several energy groups planning to meet the UK's increased demand for gas.
The company chose the Byley site because of underground salt formations, which make it safe for pressurised unlined gas storage. It estimates that mining and works for the construction of a gas processing station, pumps, pipelines and access roads, expected to start in early 2005, will take around 21 months.
In documents before the court, ScottishPower argue that the scheme is 'consistent with energy policy'.
It says that evidence shows the demand for UK gas is likely to exceed supply 'sometime between 2003-2010', and that the development would increase national gas storage capacity by around 10%.
The hearing was due to end last night, and Mr Justice Davis is expected to reserve his decision in order to give it in writing at a later date.
