A Labour minister says people who have to put up with pylons and other clean energy infrastructure built in their neighbourhood should get £250 for the inconvenience.
Housing Minister Alex Norris told Sky News: “We’re clear that communities need to share the benefits. And if you are making that sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community, you should get some of the money back.
“So we’re making that commitment, £250 a year if you are near those pylons. So we think that’s a fair balance between people who are making that commitment to the country themselves, well they should be rewarded for that.”
The idea is to compensate for the huge build out announced by Labour as it sliced up planning laws to boost the energy transtion.
Mr Norris made his comments ahead of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will be introduced this week, to support the government’s Plan for Change commitment to build 1.5 million homes.
Details will be revealed in the Bill to speed up planning decisions to boost housebuilding and remove unnecessary blockers and challenges to the delivery of vital developments like roads, railway lines and windfarms.
Compensation is right
RenewableUK’s Head of Policy James Robottom believes the idea of compensation was a good move.
“It’s right that local communities should benefit from hosting new and upgraded pylons, so this guarantee that they will have significantly lower electricity bills is a positive step forward.
“We recognise the need to bring communities with us as we build the clean energy system of the future by ensuring that they have a tangible stake in it.
“Our switch to an energy system dominated by renewables will also strengthen the UK’s energy security by reducing our exposure to volatile international gas markets which caused the recent spike in energy bills, so it’s a win-win all round”.
