South Holland District Council’s Planning Committee has approved National Grid’s application for Weston Marsh Substation A by just six votes to five, with two abstentions, following almost three hours of debate.
The decision has prompted serious concerns from Lincolnshire Against Needless Destruction (LAND) about how major interconnected infrastructure developments are being considered through separate planning applications.
During the committee debate, councillors were urged to consider Weston Marsh Substation A as a standalone planning application, despite the planning officer also acknowledging that Weston Marsh Substations A and B form part of National Grid’s wider Grimsby to Walpole project.
National Grid’s own published proposals confirm that both substations are included within its planned Grimsby to Walpole Development Consent Order (DCO), while part of Substation A is being brought forward separately to facilitate the earlier connection of the Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind Farm.
Separate consenting arrangements must not mean that the wider consequences of interconnected infrastructure are overlooked.
The group questions whether the relationship between these developments, and their cumulative impacts, has been given sufficient consideration.
Councillors questioned the loss of agricultural land, choice of location, alternative sites, wider transmission network and the consequences of other proposed infrastructure.
Questions were also raised about cumulative impacts and the extent to which future developments could be considered when determining the application.
Despite the concerns, the committee narrowly voted in favour of the officers’ recommendation to approve.
We are extremely disappointed by the decision, particularly given how narrowly the application was approved.
What concerns us most is the approach being taken to major infrastructure planning.
We fully understand separate planning applications can be made. But this does not make the infrastructure itself separate. The substations, overhead lines and associated works form part of a wider electricity network, with consequences for Lincolnshire’s farmland, communities and landscape.
The fact that approval was secured by just one vote illustrates how divided the committee was.
LAND has repeatedly raised concerns about the way large-scale energy developments across Lincolnshire are being planned and consented.
This raises an important question for both local and national government.
How can communities and decision-makers properly assess the cumulative consequences of major infrastructure programmes if the individual components are repeatedly considered through different applications, processes and timescales?
It is not opposition to energy infrastructure in principle. It is a call for transparent, coordinated and evidence-led planning.
The group will examine how the relationship with Grimsby to Walpole and other foreseeable infrastructure was addressed within the planning assessment. The approval of Weston Marsh Substation A does not grant consent for the wider Grimsby to Walpole or Weston Marsh to East Leicestershire projects, which remain subject to separate processes.
We would remind everyone that consultation on the Weston Marsh to East Leicestershire project remains active until Tuesday, November 3 and encourage everyone to submit feedback – details are available on our website www.lincsland.co.uk
LAND by email
