Ed Miliband is facing a growing legal threat from a string of councils over his decision to unleash a wave of electricity pylons across Britain.
Local leaders in Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have said the Energy Secretary will “wreck” their landscapes by rolling out vast swathes of green energy infrastructure.
They claim that their countryside will be disproportionately affected by the rollout, which they say will scare off tourists and ruin farmland.
As a result, all four have warned that they will launch a High Court challenge to block Mr Miliband’s plans.
It comes after the Energy Secretary recently vowed to “take on the blockers” who oppose the Government’s clean energy proposals, claiming that defeating Nimbys on net zero was a matter of “national security”.
However, a growing backlash is beginning to take shape.
Colin Davie, Lincolnshire’s executive councillor for planning, said: “Thousands of people are already objecting to Mr Miliband’s plans to ruin our countryside.
“He has already approved solar farms across 10,000 acres of high quality Lincolnshire farmland, with many more set to be covered in concrete for national grid pylons and substations,”
“And we have another 24 energy projects in planning which are so large they are deemed to be of national importance - meaning Mr Miliband makes the decisions rather than local people. We have a flat rural landscape which is going to be ruined forever by these massive turbines, pylons and solar farms.”
The joint move by four major local authorities is reminiscent of the backlash against renewables seen 10 years ago when David Cameron’s government tried to pave the way for new wind farms across England.
However, the fury those plans generated later forced his government to row back on plans and impose an effective ban on onshore wind.
One of Mr Miliband’s first moves as Energy Secretary was to lift that ban, meaning thousands of turbines are now expected to be built across England.
They will be in addition to a flood of new electricity pylons, which are integral to the National Grid expanding its system as the country moves away from gas.
The new pylons will carry electricity from Scottish wind farms to England’s southern cities.
These will run through all four of the counties pursuing the prospective legal challenge, although protests are likely to arise along other pylon routes.
Criticism will intensify given that planned new power lines will make the surrounding area ideal for new wind and solar farms by providing them with easy connection points.
Developers are already targeting Lincolnshire with planning applications for 11 large-scale solar farms, while applications for onshore wind farms are also expected.
Martin Hill, leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The degree of certainty with which the Prime Minister and some MPs speak about these pylon plans sounds like predetermining the planning applications.
“They need to make sure they are not making a mockery of the planning process.”
When asked on Sunday whether he was “throwing rural communities under the bus”, Sir Keir Starmer said that any opposition to plans to build more pylons would force him to put taxes up.
Labour’s determination to force through its renewable energy plans has only fuelled resistance among local councils and campaign groups.
Rosie Pearson, of the Essex Suffolk Norfolk Pylons action group, said: “In the face of sustained pro-pylon rhetoric from Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband it is very pleasing to see our east of England county councils fighting to ensure the right renewable solutions are selected. Our beleaguered rural communities very much need this support.”
Renewables UK, the trade body for the wind, solar and related industries, said new infrastructure was vital for the UK’s future, adding that local communities’ objections would be noted.
Director of Future Electricity Systems Barnaby Wharton said: “It’s essential that we expand the electricity grid to strengthen energy security and get the cheap, clean power we’re generating from offshore wind to homes and businesses.”
A spokesman for National Grid said: “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.”
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