An area of Derbyshire is set to be given extra protection to try and fend off a planned 60-kilometre powerline and other “significant” development pressure.
Derbyshire County Council is to support an application to have northern Amber Valley made an area of outstanding national beauty (AONB) to counter National Grid’s plans to build power lines from Chesterfield to Willington, and other developments.
National Grid’s plans, which are so large they will be decided nationally by the secretary of state, would currently include 50-metre-tall pylons being built through Amber Valley from Clay Cross, past Alfreton and Ripley to Denby and Smalley.
The county council has formally opposed this application, due to the impact on several historic buildings, including Hardwick Hall, Sutton Scarsdale Hall, Ogston Hall, South Wingfield Manor, Locko Park, Elvaston Castle, the Swarkestone Causeway – along with the wider Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
County council officials, writing in a report to be discussed next week, said: “The northern part of the Amber Valley has been recognised for some time as an attractive natural environment, owing to the quality of its landscape, which includes numerous heritage assets such as listed buildings, conservation areas and sensitive habitats and landscapes.
“This area of the Amber Valley has been subject to recent change that has impacted on these landscape qualities, particularly as a result of increased development pressure and more recently as a result of proposals by the National Grid for the Chesterfield to Willington electricity line project.”
It says an application to adopt an area of outstanding national beauty would be made to Natural England, but would need the agreement of the district councils in the area, which would be Amber Valley Borough Council and North East Derbyshire District Council.
The county council says the process will “likely take a number of years”.
It writes: “Should the designation be approved by Natural England, then it would have implications for all future development proposals and decisions in the area designated as an AONB.
“In particular, the council would be required to make sure that all decisions it makes have regard to ‘the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the AONB’ and would be required to consider the potential effect those decisions will have within the AONB and land outside its boundary.
“On balance, the special qualities of the landscape of the northern part of the Amber Valley have been under significant pressure in recent years from development growth, particularly new housing developments and larger-scale infrastructure projects.
“It is therefore considered that the proposed designation of an AONB for the area would help ensure those special qualities were preserved and enhanced in the future and accordingly, justify the council submitting a proposal to Natural England for such a designation.”
