Crabbs Lane, Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, SG9 0JB

Construction and operation of a battery energy storage system and associated infrastructure

Authority: East Hertfordshire District Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Hearing
Development: utilities-energy · Other Major Developments
Inspector: Chamberlain G

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area
The effect on the significance of: 1) Crabbs Green Conservation Area and 2) Crabbs Green Farmhouse and Barn at Crabbs Green (both Grade II listed buildings) through changes in their settings
The effect of the proposal on the living conditions of the occupants of nearby dwellings, with particular reference to noise

What decided it

The cumulative harm to landscape character, heritage significance and living conditions (noise) outweighed the benefits of the renewable energy scheme.

The benefits of the scheme (energy storage, net zero contribution, economic benefits, biodiversity net gain) outweighed the heritage harm in isolation, but did not outweigh the combined harm to heritage, landscape character and noise, so overall harm outweighed the benefits.

Framework references: 161, 215, 198, 135, 168, 11

Plan policies cited: Policy CC3, Policy DES2, Policy HA1, Policy EQ2, Policy DES4, Policy INT1

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.