Beloved Yorkshire museum Eden Camp 'at threat' from green energy site, director says

Eden Camp Modern History Museum in Malton is the UK’s only fully preserved Prisoner of War camp site, and is home to thousands of Second World War artefacts.

The museum is particularly popular with school visitors, and recently opened its Heritage Hall to store military vehicles and machinery as well as host talks and workshops for young visitors.

But plans by renewables firm Harmony Energy to install a battery energy storage system (BESS) on land eight metres behind the Hall will put the museum in jeopardy, its director has said.

According to Eden Camp’s managing director, Howard Johnson, noise from the energy storage system will be hugely disruptive to remembrance parades and the associated minute’s silences, but also be “unbearable” for schoolchildren, with or without extra sensory needs.

And the alleged fire risk from the proposed site means its insurance premiums could go up, with Mr Johnson fearing “disaster” if an accident should happen.

Mr Johnson has said the plans, currently submitted to Ryedale District Council, could jeopardise the future of the museum, which welcomes 125,000 visitors a year, of whom approximately 30,000 are school children.

He said: “It’s important to reiterate that Eden Camp are firmly in support of green economy, but only where it is appropriate to the location and community.”

“Our primary directive is, and always has been, to preserve and protect our unique and historically significant site and museum.

"We welcome thousands of visitors each year, providing education, access to heritage, talks and a fantastic day out. We believe the proposed location of the BESS had not been sympathetically considered, especially given the proximity to our main display space and evacuation centre.”

A protest on Saturday saw around 70 people from the community attend the site to see where the proposed BESS will be built.

It comes as more than 300 people put in formal objections to the plans - for the “installation and operation of a solar farm and battery energy storage system with associated infrastructure including substation, access tracks, pole mounted CCTV, fencing and landscaping for a period of 40 years” to Ryedale District Council.

A spokesperson for Harmony Energy said they refuted claims the noise levels of the BESS would affect Eden Camp.

They said: “Battery containers do not give off a constant noise, and only intermittently create noise when their cooling fans operate when they are either importing or exporting electricity.

“We will continue to engage with them to address all noise concerns and impacts will be negligible/not discernible from Eden Camp.

“Fire incidents are extremely rare and do not propagate owing to the design of the batteries. There are around 150 battery sites operating successfully in the UK and many tens of thousands more across the globe.

“We are required to increase the UK’s battery energy storage capacity by tenfold over the next decade to provide any realistic prospect of achieving Net-Zero. Batteries are extremely safe and are monitored 24/7.”