Updates – Stop The Pylons

The Stage TWO Submissions are now closed!

Take Action: Ensure Our Collective Voices Are Heard

✅ Sign local borough council e-petition https://c.org/f5Y9gFbkKN

✅ Sign Government e-petition 👉 https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/765313

The Great Grid Upgrade’s Gridlock!

Our Villages, Our Voices Must Be Heard

Communities along the proposed National Grid Pylon route – from Chesterfield to Willington, Derbyshire and beyond – are already raising their voices. Yet concerns are often only heard in isolated pockets, leaving communities frustrated and blocked by a system that is failing to capture an respond fairly to our shared issues.

⚠️ Stop the Pylons Derbyshire is calling for a pause in the government petition until fair procedures are guaranteed.

Stop the Pylons Derbyshire want to help our communities raise our collective voice, ensuring concerns are seen and must be heard at every level – which is why the campaign is called “The Great Grid’s Upgrade – Gridlock”: to highlight the barriers communities face in being heard effectively and appropriately supported.

About Stop the Pylons Derbyshire

Who we are: A community-led network of residents, parish councils, and local groups along the Chesterfield to Willington National Grid Pylon route.
When we formed: Established in 2024 in response to growing concerns about National Grid’s plans and the lack of independent support for communities.
Our mission: To ensure communities have a collective voice, access to accurate information, and the ability to influence decisions about local energy infrastructure.
What we do:
- Connect communities along the National Grid Pylon route in Derbyshire
- Share guidance for raising concerns
- Support submissions to consultations and formal objections
- Advocate for fair, sustainable, low-carbon alternatives
Links:
- Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1GNXaceNyn/?mibextid=wwXIfr
  
  Website https://stopthepylons.co.uk/

Consultation Challenges: Why Our Voice Struggles to Be Heard

Communities along the Great Grid line face a series of obstacles that make it difficult for our collective voice to be heard effectively. Understanding these challenges helps explain why the three Unlocks and local actions are so important.

Stage 1 communities are exhausted after months of engagement with little support
Stage 2 communities are blindsided by new routes, some less than 100 metres from housing
National Grid has significant resources, expertise, and funding – communities do not
Consultation is largely managed internally, with limited independent oversight
Feedback is formally reviewed only after key plans are already developed
The 56-day consultation period, with thousands of pages and no independent support, is insufficient for communities to respond effectively – a temporary pause is needed to allow fair participation
Early Financial Impacts: Households near proposed Phase 2 routes are reporting falling property values, mortgage and remortgage difficulties, and in some cases being forced to reduce asking process to sell – long before decisions re finalised with no compensation available at this stage and limited clarity about future eligibility

Even if your local community is not currently affected, future projects along the Great Grid line – or other large-scale national infrastructure projects – could bring these same challenges to you next. Acting now helps ensure future communities are heard and protected.

The Power of Unity: Amplifying Our Collective Voice

Linking communities: Communities along the Great Grid line are mostly working in isolation. Stop the Pylons Derbyshire are helping to bring these efforts together, creating a wider UK collective voice.
Collective voice: By uniting, concerns gain real weight and visibility, ensuring they must be heard and challenging a system that currently underestimates community issues.
Keep local action going: While linking voices nationally is vital, communities must continue local-specific actions – petitions, meetings, events, or social advocacy and media to ensure unique concerns are seen and must be heard.
Legacy focus: By acting together now, we ensure that our collective voice shapes the future of energy infrastructure – creating a lasting standard for how communities are consulted and protected.

Solutions: Undergrounding & Alternatives for a Sustainable Future

While more costly, a fair three-way funding model could make undergrounding achievable:

Energy bills: small, transparent household contribution
Government: funding part of the costs to underground the entire route
National Grid: contribution through regulated investment

Other strategies can reduce grid demands and impact:

Local renewable generation (solar, wind, community energy)
Energy storage solutions (batteries, pumped hydro)
Smart grid technology (dynamic load balancing, microgrids)
Distributed generation and energy efficiency
Hybrid approaches combining undergrounding and modern grid tech

⚡🌱 Outcome: A more resilient, fair, and sustainable energy system – reducing long-term costs and avoiding unnecessary impact on communities, landscapes, and wildlife along the Great Grid line, while ensuring all community concerns must be heard. Every action now contributes to a lasting legacy for future generations.

Six Demands for Fair Consultation

A pause on further development until fair process, protections, and full alternative assessment are completed
National independent oversight of consultation to ensure fairness, transparency, and consistency
A national community advocate providing free technical and legal support
Full transparency on local impacts, including financial impacts on households, farms, and local businesses from the point routes are proposed, and clear early-stage information on any compensation frameworks, eligibility, and timing where applicable
Stronger Stage 2 protections, including a minimum six-month consultation period and independent support for newly affected communities
Full consideration of modern energy alternatives first, including engagement with independent experts, local stakeholders, and other energy industry partners with relevant solutions
Underground or offshore routing where no better option exists, where feasible
Stronger national standards for all future infrastructure projects to ensure fair consultation, transparency, and community voice

Take Action: Ensure Our Collective Voices Are Heard

✅ Sign local borough council e-petition https://c.org/f5Y9gFbkKN

✅ Sign Government e-petition 👉 https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/765313

✅ Contact MPs and councillors https://democracy.derbyshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndexMP.aspx?bcr=1

Information sources:

✅ Stop the Pylons Derbyshire Facebook group 👉 https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1GNXaceNyn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The ObjectNow letters are now available for you to complete and send! (Stop The Pylons Morley has funded this facility)
PLEASE ASK YOU FRIENDS TO JOIN STOP THE PYLONS DERBYSHIRE FB GROUP
OBJECTIONS CLOSE 28th April at 23:59

PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION FIRST
In order to help residents of Derbyshire to give maximum feedback to National Grid, we have engaged the services of “Object Now”, a company specialising in information to help the general public with campaigns.

✅ Stop the Pylons Derbyshire website 👉 https://stopthepylons.co.uk/

To generate your objection letter/s – just click the link included in this post and follow the simple instructions. We have provided information to them for 28 possible topics for inclusion in your letters of feedback; these options are listed just by headings on the site. We will add the complete list into the files of this group.

ObjectNow will allow each and every one of you to select from up to six headers, from the 28 we have provided. When selected – the objection letter will be generated including a full paragraph or more in relation to the header/s chosen. Your letters of submission to National Grid, will automatically include an Introduction and Summary. And please ensure the text is edited in any section to make it your own letter before submission.

You will be able to include a personal impact statement (which will remain worded exactly as written) in the last section to input. This section must be completed to make your letter individual and meaningful. It is a large text box so should be sufficient for you to complete.

After completing your letter using the “Generate My Letter” you can then read through it and amend any of the text you want. Once you are happy with your letter, you can preferably submit it immediately to National Grid via this portal. https://helpderbyshire.object.now

When ObjectNow receive confirmation of receipt from National Grid, they will forward to you a copy of your letter and a second email stating received and accepted by National Grid.

Or you can choose to download and print your letter from the portal and send via the Freepost Address included in the letter. You may need to post it by Recorded Delivery to ensure it has been received.

ObjectNow keeps track of all letters submitted and downloaded (in accordance with GDPR Guidelines), although please note they do not store letters, it is therefore important that you keep your personal copy safe. By using the portal to send your letter, this will generate how many have been sent.
STOP THE PYLONS MORLEY has funded this facility

Use this link for access to the system: https://helpderbyshire.object.now

MORLEY is currently specifically mentioned under these headers
𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀

𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲

𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆

𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸

Remember – You can edit any section you choose.

“Super pylons will decimate our beautiful countryside”.

Derbyshire County Council votes to oppose a plan to roll out 37 miles (60km) of electricity pylons.

December 2025

A mix of the posters that have been produced

MARCH 2025

Up-date for Morley Residents from the Stop The Pylons Campaign

We want to update you on what has been happening with the campaign since the submission date of 17th September 2024 for the non-statutory consultation.

In October 2024, Linsey Farnsworth (MP for Amber Valley) facilitated two meetings between National Grid and a representative from each Amber Valley Parish Council and campaign group. Although questions from the representatives were submitted a week prior to the dates – answers were still not given, or were incomplete. We are calling on Linsey and all other local MPs to actively support our campaign and to challenge National Grid on some of the assertions that they have made.

We have been in contact with Mid Derbyshire MP Jonathan Davies to confirm that he will facilitate a meeting with National Grid for Morley and asked if this could include other Parish representatives from other areas within Mid Derbyshire.

In November, Parish and Town Councils of villages/towns within the swathe received a letter from the Planning Inspectorate. Responses to the letter would inform the Planners as to what should be in or out of scope for National Grid when they seek to apply for planning permission. Accordingly this was an important report. In Morley, the letter was received on 14th November although dated 1st November, with a deadline to respond of the 29th November. This correspondence consisted of a 1,000 page document, with just 14 days to digest it and respond. We contacted all councils asking them to respond and submitted our response. We have read the final report and unsurprisingly, very few responses were received, and a common theme of those that did respond was that the time frame was too short, and the technical details hard to absorb. We have raised a complaint which is ongoing. The report is available online.

January 2025 saw Ardent/National Grid sending letters to various local landowners asking for survey access. This involves signing a 12 month licence agreement in return for a payment of between £500 and £750. If you have received one of these letters could you please let us know? You can employ a Land Agent for advice, and the costs can then be claimed from National Grid. We have further information available to help decide what to do should anyone want it. We are pleased that some people who have decided to allow the surveys to go ahead have offered to donate the payment that they get to our campaign fund. These donations are most welcome.

We are told by NG that we will all get an up-date on the results of the initial consultation from them soon, but we don’t know when, or what this will say. After that, the next key event will be the start of the formal (statutory) consultation later in the year, once a more defined route has been selected.

Local and National Media coverage of National Grid’s plans has certainly increased recently. There are over 30 groups like ours across the UK fighting similar schemes. Some political resistance is also now being seen, mostly from the Reform Party so far.

It remains clear that there is a hard fight ahead, unless and until the current Labour Government and National Grid decide to change their policies. It is therefore so important that as residents of Morley, we all play our part in challenging the plans. This might involve signing online petitions, putting up banners or bat boxes, writing to your MP or councillors or coming up with your own ideas.

It’s a team effort to save our beautiful village from being surrounded by 50 metre pylons, so please don’t leave it all to us as, although we are committed, we don’t have unlimited time and energy!

FEBRUARY 2025

It’s been a while since we posted an up-date on the campaign. Rest assured that we have continued to engage with a number of relevant parties, including local MPs, The Woodland Trust, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, the BBC, and other affected parishes.

We have formed a group of around 40 representatives from across the route, and other campaign groups, in an effort to coordinate actions. We meet monthly. We continue to post relevant media links, surveys etc on here which we would encourage you to read and action where needed.

The most recent development has been the receipt of land survey request letters from Ardent. These have gone to a number of residents in Morley and beyond and request that a licence agreement enabling access is signed in return for a compensation fee. Everyone that asked for help has been given information on their options. This may involve contacting a land agent for advice.
Details of 3 local land agents who we have spoken to have been passed on. We are pleased that some people who have decided to allow the surveys to go ahead have offered to donate the payment that they get to our campaign fund. These donations are most welcome.

We are told by NG that we will all get an up-date from them soon, but we don’t know when, or what this will say.
After that, the next key event will be the start of the formal (statutory) consultation later in the year, once a more defined route has been selected.

We are a small but dedicated group with limited resources so please do support us by doing all you can in your area to help.

JANUARY 2025

We wanted to update you on what has been happening regarding National Grid since the submission date of 17th September 2024 for the non-statutory consultation.

Parish & Town Councils of villages/towns within the swathe, received a letter from the Planning Inspectorate. In Morley – the letter was received on 14th November although dated 1st November with a deadline to respond of 29th November. This correspondence comprised of a 1,000 page document, with just 14 days to digest it and respond! We contacted all councils asking them to respond to this correspondence.

Linsey Farnsworth (MP for Amber Valley) facilitated two meetings between National Grid and a representative from each Amber Valley Parish Council and campaign group. Although questions from the representatives were submitted a week prior to the dates – answers were still not given. We are calling on Linsey and all other local MPs to actively support our campaign and to challenge National Grid on some of the assertions that they have made.

In the meantime, Ardent/National Grid are sending letters to what seems to be random land owners asking for survey access. If you have received one of these letters could you please let us know? It seems most of those in receipt of this correspondence are employing a Land Agent and the incurred costs can then be claimed from National Grid.

As a Group – we are trying to keep momentum during this lull in proceedings and the Morley Team have chaired meetings with representatives of several parishes throughout the affected swathe. We hope to meet this forum monthly and we welcome agenda items from all sources.

It is easy for us to remain focused and motivated when we consider how these NG proposals could affect our community. However, we understand that the current lull in proceedings may take the focus off this for some of you, but we need all of your support! Please take this opportunity to write to your MP to register your concerns regarding the National Grid Project, routeing and costings which are all questionable. You could also ask for support from your Parish/Town Councils and also any action groups within your locality.

May we take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy 2025 and ask that National Grid start to really listen to the voices of Derbyshire