Battery farm approved despite concerns over noise

People living near Green Farm reported regularly hearing a "hum" noise because of a nearby National Grid substation

Plans to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) the size of two football pitches have been approved by a council despite noise concerns and 350 objections.

East Herts District Council approved the application from Pelham Power Ltd on Wednesday for the 1.4 hectare (3.4 acres) development on land at Green Farm in Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire.

People living nearby have reported already being affected by noise, known locally as the "Pelham hum", coming from the National Grid's Stocking Pelham substation.

Neil Waterson, the head of planning at Cambridge Power, said the area's vicinity to an existing substation meant it was an "ideal location" for this type of development.

There have been numerous applications for similar infrastructure in the area in recent years – some approved, some rejected and some pending – including solar farms and another BESS.

Six parish councils objected to the plan, including Stocking Pelham Parish Council.

Colin Berthoud, from the parish council, said: "Our villages are deeply impacted by developments around the Pelham substation, so my comments reflect the views of the council and, we believe, the majority in our parish.

"While we support net zero infrastructure, it should be fairly distributed. As a village, we've done our part and now planners should protect us from further developments of this type."

Strategic benefit

A noise assessment carried out as part of the application suggested noise levels at nearby homes would not "exceed background noise levels" during the daytime after a 3.5m (11.4ft) acoustic fence had been installed.

Trees and hedgerows would be added around the perimeter of the development in an effort to mitigate its impact on the landscape, the assessment said.

Sara Yarrow, from campaign group Protect the Pelhams, said existing infrastructure in the area did not "justify further attempts to fundamentally alter the character of the area by introducing more alien infrastructure".

Mr Waterson, however, told the council's Development Management Committee the proposal would "effectively be the intersection between the national transmission network and the local transmission network, so it's a very good entry point to the grid".

He added: "It takes in excess energy when it is not needed and stores and feeds it back into the grid for when it is needed."

Yvonne Estop, a Labour councillor on the authority, said the application was "speculative" and added the authorities new District Plan should include a strategy for energy infrastructure.

She said: "We understand, clearly, that there is a growing need for this battery storage but the benefits of are not going to be local. The benefits are more strategic, more regional.

"There's such a lot of development related to energy and this kind of development is becoming, really, the most significant threat to the countryside."