Derbyshire County Council leader’s disappointment with other councils over lack of objections to massive pylon plan

Derbyshire council’s leader has expressed disappointment that other local authorities in the region have not formally expressed concerns over the potential impact of National Grid’s proposed 60km long corridor of electricity pylons across the county.
Cllr Barry Lewis told a recent county council meeting that Conservative-led Derbyshire County Council has submitted an objection to National Grid’s plans concerning where the infrastructure may go with worries for the region’s landscapes and communities.
The council leader said: “We put in a reasonably clear objection – not to the principle, to be clear, of having that necessary infrastructure – but, just to be clear, around where that infrastructure goes and that it does not impact upon our most important landscapes and our most important parts of Derbyshire and our key communities.
“And we are asking National Grid to consider mitigations to lessen the impact of some of these pylons across Derbyshire. I know that similar questions have come to other local authorities right across Derbyshire.
“It’s been a bit disappointing to say the least that all of these local authorities have not put in what could have been a clear objection without objecting to the principle, as we have done, and rather have just left it hanging as something they seem to be supporting in its current form and that is doing a disservice to our communities, to our landscapes and to the residents of Derbyshire.”
National Grid’s proposed 60km long, 400 kilovolt overhead electricity line with 164ft tall pylons has been earmarked to run between Chesterfield, in north Derbyshire, and Willington, in South Derbyshire, including the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site and concerned parties including councils have been involved in a recently completed first consultation.
The scheme’s potential route includes an area with Bolsover district’s Stainsby Common and Bolsover District Council will have had to consider the possible impact upon Hardwick Hall, Hardwick Old Hall, Hardwick Hall Register Park and Gardens, Bolsover Castle, a scheduled monument at Stainsby and the conservation areas located at Hardwick and Rowthorne, Stainsby, Astwith and Hardstoft.
North East Derbyshire District Council recently voted against a call to submit concerns during what it regarded as the early stages of a consultation after Labour District Council Leader Nigel Barker argued a fixed view at this stage without full information from council officers could ‘fetter future discretion’.
Disappointed Conservative NE Derbyshire District Cllr Charlotte Cupit said the route is earmarked through some of the district’s most treasured rural landscapes and that there are already significant objections from residents over the possible impact on listed buildings, valued landscape and the character of the countryside.
She fears the development would affect communities in Calow, Heath, Holmewood, North Wingfield, Pilsley, Lower Pilsley, Danesmoor, Handley, Stretton, Higham, Mickley, Shirland, and the Amber Valley and that ‘the spectre of the line would also cast a shadow over many more of the surrounding areas’.
Cllr Cupit has also argued the proposals would detract from and harm some of the most valued open spaces and countryside in NE Derbyshire and in particular the character of the valley that surrounds Higham, Handley, Stretton, Danesmoor and Pilsley.
She also feels the proposals could open the way for further planning applications because the area would subsequently lose certain protections if the pylons were put up.
Cllr Cupit fears the roll-out would also have a ‘devastating impact’ on heritage assets and their settings including Ogston Hall and many other listed buildings as well as Wingfield Manor just beyond the council’s district.
National Grid Electricity Transmission has stated it is proposing to enhance the electricity network by building and operating the new overhead electricity line between a new 400kV substation at Chesterfield and the existing Willington substation in South Derbyshire to help meet the challenges of climate change by producing less harmful energy.
A National Grid spokesperson has said the Chesterfield to Willington proposals will support the country’s energy transition and make sure the grid is ready to connect to more sources of low carbon electricity generated in Britain.
National Grid argues the project will transport clean energy from the North of England to homes and businesses in the Midlands and play an important role in building a more secure and resilient future energy system.
The scale of the project means the final decision about whether it goes ahead or not does not lie with any local planning authorities.
National Grid will have to apply to the Planning Inspectorate for a Development Consent Order and the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the relevant Secretary of State who makes the final decision.
A recently completed consultation is expected to be followed by a further one in 2025 and the application could be submitted for consideration by 2026 and if it is approved construction could get underway by 2028 with an estimated, completed operational date in 2031.
Cllr Lewis further told the council meeting on October 9: “In all subsequent dealings with this matter I would expect that we would enter into dialogue with other local authorities and with our MPs as we move forward as well.”
The county council leader has also set up the The Amber Valley National Landscape Campaign to protect the area from ‘unrestrained development and infrastructure projects’ that ‘threaten its ecological integrity’.
Campaigners also aim to make Amber Valley a National Landscape Designation which could provide protection.
National Grid has stated it wants to work closely with communities and stakeholders as it considers value for money for bill payers, the impact on the community and environment, planning policy, licence obligations and net zero targets.