‘Pelham hum’ concerns fall on deaf ears as East Herts Council says yes to BESS (battery energy storage system) on farmland at Stocking Pelham

A battery energy storage system (BESS) the size of two football pitches can be built in the countryside at Stocking Pelham, says East Herts Council – overruling more than 350 objections.

The authority’s development management committee on Wednesday (July 9) went with a recommendation from planning officers for the BESS application from Pelham Power Ltd to be approved, overriding concerns about landscaping and noise – including a phenomenon known locally as the “Pelham hum”.

The site of 1.4 hectares (3.46 acres) on agricultural land at Greens Farm, East End, is almost immediately south-west of the National Grid’s Stocking Pelham substation.

Neil Waterson, who spoke for Cambridge Power in support of the application for the 50 megawatt (MW) BESS, said the substation’s vicinity was an “ideal location” for this type of development.

“It’s effectively the intersection between the national transmission network and the local transmission network, so it’s a very good entry point to the grid,” he said.

“It takes in excess energy when it’s not needed. It stores it and feeds it back into the grid for when it is needed.”

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 other battery energy storage systems. They include schemes within East Herts and over the border with Uttlesford.

The Government’s Clean Power Action Plan notes that the country is expected to need 23-27 gigawatts (GW) – 23,000-27,000 MW – of battery storage by 2030, up from just 4.5 GW in 2024.

Six parish councils – Stocking Pelham, Manuden, Furneux Pelham, Berden, Albury and Farnham – objected.

Colin Berthoud, a Stocking Pelham parish councillor, 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.”

Mr Berthoud said that a “Pelham hum” was already audible from the substation.

A noise assessment carried out as part of the BESS application suggests that noise levels at nearby homes should not “exceed background noise levels” during the daytime after a 3.5m (11ft 6in) acoustic fence has been installed.

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

Measures will also be put in place to widen part of Ginns Road after concerns were raised by highways authority Hertfordshire County Council about the impact of construction traffic during the expected nine- or ten-month project.

More than 350 objections were sent to the council about the application.

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”.

Cllr Yvonne Estop (Lab, Bishop’s Stortford Central) described the application as “speculative” and said East Herts’ new District Plan should include a strategy for energy infrastructure.

“We understand, clearly, that there is a growing need for this battery storage,” she said. “But the benefits of this are not going to be local, they’re not necessarily just going to be East Herts. The benefits are more strategic, more regional.

“Our role is to protect [the] environment but our role is also to enable economic development, so there’s a tension with this.

“There’s such a lot of development related to energy. This kind of development is becoming, really, the most significant threat to the countryside.”

Cllr Geoffrey Williamson, who spoke at the meeting as ward councillor for Little Hadham and the Pelhams, suggested the proposals represented “creeping industrialisation”.

The plans were approved with ten votes in favour and one against, with one abstention.