COUNCILLORS are intending to hold a protest at a local woods after the Forestry Commission threatened to destroy the area with an energy facility.

On Thursday February 2 from 10am, local councillors from the Popley East ward will be handing out flyers in Basing Wood, at an event aimed at promoting healthy wellbeing and use of the woods.

The event is being run by the Forestry Commission, who own the land at Basing Wood.

The commission were blasted by residents last year after it agreed to allow Camborne Energy Storage to build a battery energy storage site in the woods in Carpenters Down, Popley.

However, the plans were later withdrawn.

Despite no proposals for a new energy site being submitted, councillors will hand out flyers to members of the public in protest of the “ironic” public event on Thursday.

Cllr David Potter, a ward councillor Popley East, said: “Isn’t it ironic that the Forestry Commission is hosting one of these special events for people to come enjoy the woods months after it agreed to sell it off for industrial development?

“We protested at the last plans and we will do again. If any new proposals do come in.

“Basing Wood is a space enjoyed by the whole community of Basingstoke, not just residents in Popley.”

Fellow ward councillor, Cllr Janet Westbrook, added: “People go jogging there, they take their dogs for walks there, they enjoy the space. The nursery [Daisy Chain Day Nursery] that backs on to the woods also uses the woods for nature activities.

“We fear that if another application is submitted in Basing Wood, and this is built, it will set a dangerous precedent for the future and we could one day no longer have this fantastic space.”

Environmental developers Enzygo submitted the original plans to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council on behalf of Camborne Energy Storage.

A 15 megawatt facility would have been built if plans were accepted by the council, which would draw energy from the National Grid when demand is high and low, it would store the energy and then release it when required.

A spokesperson for the developers said that “no new plans were set to be submitted”.

Flyers will be handed out at the protest.

It reads: “We are against the Forestry Commission’s decision to give away some of the wood to a private developer to build an energy storage facility.

“The storage facility will harm the natural environment and lead to the industrialisation of this natural asset.

“Because of public support and your objections, Enzygo Ltd, acting for the Forestry Commission has withdrawn its first application for the energy storage facility.

“However, another site has been chosen, probably near the community centre. And we need to stop this application as well.”

It adds: “The Forestry Commission is charged with managing Basing Wood for the people and should not be encouraging its use for industrial purposes.”

A Forestry Commission spokesperson said: “Basing Woods is visited and used by many local people every day and we understand how important it is to them. This is why we are working with residents to develop a volunteer group.

“The planning application for a small area of battery energy storage on the edge of the woodlands has been withdrawn and we are sorry residents did not have the opportunity to talk about and understand the proposal beforehand.”