Member

Amendment 94B, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, would prohibit the construction of energy substations on land of grades 1, 2 and 3 without the explicit consent of the landowner. The Government are in total agreement with the noble Baroness in as far as we want to get the balance right between protecting agricultural land and facilitating the development of electricity network infrastructure. Planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, developers should seek to minimise impacts on the best and most versatile agricultural land and lower-quality land should be prioritised.