Electricity superhighway from Scotland approved despite Yorkshire farmers concerns

The £2.1bn link between Peterhead in north east Scotland and Drax in north Yorkshire, will make landfall at Fraisthorpe, a beach near Bridlington.

The 67km stretch will cross swathes of East Yorkshire farmland, with the electricity fed into the grid via a new converter station adjacent to Drax.

The NFU objected, with concerns varying from the depth at which the cable will be buried to the reinstatement of field drainage.

Senior rural surveyor Louise Staples, representing 116 landowners and tenants, told the committee on Thursday: "Easements across the cables will have restrictions as to what landowner can and cannot do so it could be said it will devalue land along the route."

She said the plans had not been given the detailed scrutiny that they would have if they had been submitted as part of the Development Consent Order process.

Councillor Philip Davison said he felt the consultation with the NFU had been "pretty unacceptable".

Spaldington parish council had complained that some landowners and farmers had felt pressurised by National Grid representatives.

However Coun Denis Healey said it was impossible for the committee to have an input into those issues, adding: "I think National Grid is cognisant of the importance of entering into agreements and will do its best to achieve good outcomes from those agreements."

Sarah Sale, Deputy Project Director for National Grid, welcomed the committee's decision.

Construction is expected to take five years and it should be up and running by 2029.

A separate planning application is being made for the convertor station and the short section of cable which falls within North Yorkshire. Ms Sale said: “We are very pleased that our proposals for onshore elements of SEGL2 in the East Riding of Yorkshire have been approved by the Council.

“This is an important milestone in securing full consent for our project.

"Once complete, this new renewable electricity superhighway will make a significant contribution towards the UK’s energy security and net zero by 2050 target.

“We await decisions from the new North Yorkshire Council and the Marine Management Organisation for other elements of the project in England and its waters, and look forward to hearing their responses to our applications in the coming months.”