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Dear Sir/Madam Please find below my objections to planning application 23/1508/OUT for a Battery Energy Storage System together with my further objections in respect of the amendments validated on 30 September ( paragraphs 19- 26 ) This objection should be taken as my separate and individual submission in accordance with your agreed policy. 1 This is inappropriate development on Green Belt land. No very special circumstances exist so as to allow the development. This is not energy production, it is storage for a electricity from a mix of sources, including fossil fuels. It is not a renewable energy project. 2. These installations are designed to support the production of renewable energy and should be built next to a wind farm or solar plant. If needed to support the National Grid this type of installation should be sited on brownfield land near one of the very many National Grid substations around the UK. 3. The BESS would have a coalescing effect and spoil the long views and open aspect to the south of each of the conservation areas of Letchmore Heath, Patchetts Green and Round Bush. 4.The Hertsmere Local Plan requires that development should be located as unobtrusively as possible, This huge industrialised plant will harm the openness and character of this rural location. 5. The screening proposed is not going to hide the BESS which at some points will be 21 feet high. The development will be a huge eyesore and be highly visible from a number of footpaths. 6. Although the proposal is for a period of 40 years that will seem permanent to many people. 7. New development should not contribute to unacceptable levels of noise pollution. A BESS emits constant noise at different frequencies from the air conditioning units inverters and transformers on a 24/7 basis. Noise from a BESS is at a level that will impact people’s daily lives, their sleep and health. The noise will travel far across the open Green Belt and a wide number of properties and schools will be affected. 8. There are many schools in the vicinity housing thousands of pupils, including boarders. It is well known that noise impacts learning. The nearby Delrow community housing adults with learning disabilities will also be very substantially affected by any noise increase. 9. It is well known that a BESS is prone to fire. These thermal runaway fires from lithium-ion batteries are highly dangerous. These fires cannot be put out with water -they can only be cooled with water and left to burn. This leads to highly contaminated water run off and toxic vapour clouds which can spread over a very wide area. The vapour clouds can easily explode and it is usual for people in the area to be given stay at home orders, sometimes for days. 10. This BESS will be one of the biggest in the world and the fire hazard is very significant because the more batteries there are the greater the risk will be. 11. There is no natural water supply for firefighting and no certainty that any artificial supply would be enough particularly in the event of contagion which is common. The developer’s proposed lagoon will not hold enough water as fire services guidance says that the amount required is dependent on the size of the BESS. 12. I am very concerned that there will only be one roadway into the development which could hinder firefighters depending on wind direction. This is highly dangerous- the fire services guidance requires at least two roads. 13. There is a wildlife site immediately next to the site and the large wildlife site at Hilfield Park Reservoir, nationally significant for birdlife is nearby. The large herd at Bhaktivedanta Manor is just adjoining. All will be affected by the hugely increased noise levels and be at real risk in case of fire. 14 . This land has been successfully farmed for years. At a time when food security is more important than ever the development will result in a loss of 30 acres of fully productive agricultural land. 15. The site lies next to Bhaktivedanta Manor which is a nationally recognised Hindu shrine and temple and a highly important place of pilgrimage. The noise from the development will destroy the spiritual experience of visitors to The Manor which is renowned for its quiet meditative atmosphere. Hundreds of thousands visit every year. Their nursey school, children’s playground and cowshed are under 200m away. 16. The BESS will be much too near Elstree Aerodrome and building here will remove an important area that until now has been available for emergency landings. This will be even more significant if the planned Solar Plant goes ahead. 17. The developer has said that if the BESS is built National Grid will build a second substation and so the combined effect of these proposals must be considered by the Council. 18. The accessway for the BESS off Hilfeld Lane, right next to the Manor’s road Dharam Marg, will be dangerous. They are just too near each other. During construction thousands will continue to visit the Manor whilst HGVs are accessing the site particularly on festival days and Saturdays. There will not be enough manoeuvrability for evacuation from the Manor whilst emergency vehicles are trying to access the BESS if there is a fire. 19. Despite the amendments the BESS will still store 1.5 GW of electricity. Although the number of containers are reduced increased energy density carries a heightened risk of fire and an increased level of noise from cooling 20. The amendments to the landscaping scheme introduce a woodland of around 8 acres and an orchard of 1.5 acres. These will take many years to mature. 21. The sheer mass of the new planting will be an intrusion into the openness of the Green Belt and spoil both long and short views. 22. The woodland is deciduous and will not be effective in Winter when leaves fall. 23. The proposed planting is very extensive and will be competing to establish so that a high degree of failure must be anticipated. 24. The planting will not adequately screen the BESS; there are height restrictions where this is under existing pylons and no amount of planting will screen the highest points of the substations. 25. The additional planting greatly increases the risks in the event of fire. The trees are much nearer to the containers than stipulated by the National Fire Chiefs Council and as they grow they will become even more of a risk. 26. I am also concerned that these amendments seek only to address comments from Landscaping and do not address the many other issues raised since the application was made. In particular there is still only 1 access road proposed which is dangerous and contrary to guidance published before the amendments were made. This application is entirely unsuited to this location and has unacceptable levels of risk and I strongly urge the Council to reject it. Yours sincerely,

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