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A St Helier resident says her life has been “destroyed” by years of “unbearable” disturbance in her home due to interference from nearby electrical substations – but says she has nowhere to turn after the Government declined to act.
Michelle Le Cornu, who lives in a cottage on Drury Lane near the bottom of Trinity Hill, said the disruption is preventing her from enjoying her home of over 50 years.
The professional artist and teacher claimed that the disruption is caused by interference between two nearby Jersey Electricity substations.
She explained that independent experts have confirmed the disruption is a highly unusual "resonance phenomenon" that amplifies noise and vibration from electrical appliances in surrounding homes into her cottage 24 hours a day.
Ms Le Cornu explained: "It acts like a tuning fork, feeding back amplified noise and vibration from neighbours’ electrical appliances within the surrounding area, into my home."
Pictured: One of the substations on the corner at the bottom of Trinity Hill. (David Ferguson)
She explained: "It has completely destroyed my health and my life.
"The severity has driven me out of my home at night in winter with nowhere to sleep and I can't enjoy my home at all."
The 76-year-old continued: "In cold weather, this occurrence feels and sounds exactly like being in a jet when it is landing, with engines in reverse thrust.
"The huge intensity of driven power, with trembling floors and walls, overwhelms the entire house.
"The background noise alone is like living with three radios on discordant stations with fluctuating volume 24/7, with no way to control or switch them off.
"At the same time, vibration is fluctuating, and the air feels pressurised, causing nausea."
The art teacher said she has not had a normal life for over two years due to the "torture" of the incessant noise and vibration.
"I am suffering an unbearable grief for the loss of my normal life...and I've become very unwell," she said.
"I’m hanging on to the job I love by my fingernails – it’s all I’ve got left and it’s now all I have the energy to do."
Pictured: Ms Le Cornu has been teaching art since 2002, and currently works at Highlands College.
Ms Le Cornu said Environmental Health officers visited her home four times in 2022 and witnessed the extreme noise and vibration levels and experienced electric shocks.
The officers told her there was no need to measure the disturbance as it clearly exceeded statutory nuisance thresholds, Ms Le Cornu claimed.
However, the Environment Department has since told Ms Le Cornu it will have to dismiss her case and start over because officers have denied the disturbance reached statutory nuisance levels.
"I am absolutely shocked," she said. "The only way to stop it is for JE to move one of their substations.
"I cannot believe the disgraceful attitude of JE who are fully aware of what’s happening and to whom this phenomenon is a calculable known risk."
Pictured: "I am suffering an unbearable grief for the loss of my normal life...and I've become very unwell."
Deputy Max Andrews, who represents Ms Le Cornu's parish, said the Environment Department is aware of an independent report confirming the substations as the cause but has failed to act.
"This cannot continue with Ms Le Cornu being forced to vacate her property in the early hours due to the noise," the St Helier North representative said.
"The department must address the generators causing these disturbances."
However, Jersey Electricity said there is no evidence its substations are the source of the disturbance.
Mark Preece, Jersey Electricity's Chief Operating Officer, said: "We have taken several steps to investigate the reported issue, including switching off both nearby substations at particular times to see if this improves Mrs Le Cornu's experience, and we have been unable to find any concrete evidence that the substations are the source of the noises or vibrations being experienced by Mrs Le Cornu.
"Environmental Health has also investigated the issue and has been unable to find any substantial evidence of noise disturbance from JE's substations."
However, an independent report by D.J. Hartigan and Associates concluded there is "significant evidence" that the noise and vibration patterns are being caused by a resonance phenomenon likely stemming from "electro-mechanical sources, such as the nearby substations."
Pictured: Deputy Max Andrews, who represents Ms Le Cornu's parish, is calling on the Environment Department to take action.
Environment Minister Steve Luce said that legal nuisance thresholds have not been met to take formal action based on the evidence gathered so far – although the case remains open.
The Minister said: "Numerous officers have visited and investigated the matter over a long period of time and have thoroughly looked into this.
"Under the Statutory Nuisances law, they consider the source, the impact it is having, the frequency, duration, and also the impact on an average person.
"In this particular case, the thresholds have not been met. This doesn't mean we lack sympathy for the individual, but it is the legal threshold we must meet to bring any formal action.
"Officers, as always, are open to receiving further evidence and will review this case if the situation substantially changes."
Pictured: Substations work by stepping down high-voltage electricity from power plants to lower voltages for safe distribution to homes and businesses.
But Ms Le Cornu insisted: "I have indisputable proof JEC substations are the source.
"The department witnessed the severe disturbance but now denies it reached statutory nuisance levels to avoid acting under the law."
She added: "I’m being completely let down by the Environment Department and it’s hard to understand how officers and members of Government can, knowingly, allow a member of the public to be left in such a perilous position, with absolutely no concern for their welfare."
Ms Le Cornu claimed that the only way the disturbance in her house can be stopped is for one of the substations to be switched off.
"I don’t wish to part with my house," she said. "It’s at least three hundred years old, with more than fifty years of my own memories embedded in it."
Ms Le Cornu explained: "I want the Environment Minister to serve an abatement notice on JE, ordering them to switch off one of the two substations without delay; so that I can have my home and my life back.
"I also want the Government to hold a thorough inquiry into the way this case has been handled by the Environment Department, in order to learn lessons and protect anyone else who finds themselves in such a terrible situation in the future."
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