National Grid has defended itself over claims of ‘stealth applications’ in South Holland

The National Grid has defended itself against claims of ‘stealth’ planning applications over its energy projects.

South Holland is earmarked for pylons and cables as part of the ‘Great Grid’ upgrade - but many locals feel that the plans have come out ‘piecemeal’ so people are not aware of the big picture.

Members of South Holland District Council have now united to support a motion put forward by Coun Laura Eldridge which called for ‘national authorities and infrastructure project planners to recognise the importance of the Fenland landscape and South Holland’s role as a food-producing area’.

But the National Grid says that it considered joint consultations for the Grimsby to Walpole and Eastern Green Links projects but decided against that due to different locations and amount of material for each project.

It stated that the proposals for Grimsby to Walpole pylons are at a more advanced stage than the offshore high voltage electricity links between Scotland and England - which will pass through South Holland on the way to Walpole.

A spokesperson for National Grid said: “Our public consultations for Grimsby to Walpole and Eastern Green Link 3 and 4 generated a lot of interest from stakeholders and local people. Nearly 4,000 people attended events in person and online across the region to view our proposals which included detailed technology and cost options and we have received more than 7,000 pieces of response feedback which is now being carefully reviewed and analysed before our next public consultations in 2025.

“Our proposals in Lincolnshire are a critical part of the new electricity infrastructure required in the region. Connecting more green energy to the grid is the surest way to lower and stabilise bills for homes and businesses in the long-term.

“The government and our regulator Ofgem require us to assess our proposals against a range of factors, including value for money to bill payers and impact on the community and environment to ensure they are in line with current planning policy, our licence obligations, and net zero targets.”

LincsOnline had also approached the Government to find out if the Government had a plan for food security as well as energy.

Here is the response from a Government spokesman: “Solar power is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower and the Energy Secretary has consented more solar capacity since July than has been installed in the past year.

“Our plans to boost solar power do not risk the UK’s food security. The total area of agricultural land used for solar is very small and is often the lowest grade quality for food production.

“Even in the most ambitious scenarios solar would still occupy less than 1% of the UK’s agricultural land, while bringing huge benefits for the British public and our energy security.”