County Council reconsiders plans aimed at protecting rural district from pylon roll-out scheme

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

By Jon Cooper – Local Democracy Reporting Service

Derbyshire County Council is reviewing plans which were originally aimed at preserving a rural part of the county as an area of outstanding beauty ahead of a proposed and feared National Grid pylon roll-out and mounting development pressures.

The Reform UK-controlled authority says it is looking into the former Conservative administration’s plans to secure National Landscape accreditation for the Amber Valley – including Peak District fringe areas like Ashover and parts of North Derbyshire around Clay Cross – to preserve this region and grant it status as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

But the council has been accused by opposition Conservative councillors of scrapping the plans as it argued a bid to Natural England to secure the status would take considerable time and money and would be unlikely to be determined before the construction of the National Grid pylon project.

Conservative County Cllr Alex Dale said: “Back in October 2024, we launched a campaign to have the Amber Valley area formally recognised as a National Landscape – formerly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – which would have created a major stumbling block for National Grid to overcome and force them to rethink the current route through the heart of our beautiful county.”

Cllr Dale added that in February 2025 the former Conservative administration agreed to formally progress the National Landscape campaign and to direct officers to begin the work of building an evidence base and a case to convince the Government to endorse the plans.

The opposition Conservative group has previously asked the Reform administration to confirm if it was planning to continue with the National Landscape campaign and it fears the plans have been ‘quietly dropped’ and that the matter has not come back to any Cabinet meeting for a formal decision.

Conservative NE Derbyshire District Cllr Charlotte Cupit has also raised concerns for Amber Valley and in her case more particularly with worries for the affected adjacent Clay Cross area including the western side along Higham, Shirland and Oakerthrope as well as for the Peak District fringe area of Ashover which all now appear to be in danger of losing protection.

Both Cllr Cupit and Cllr Dale have also raised concerns about the need to preserve greenfield land and even Green Belt from possible massive housing scheme plans as part of the Labour Government’s plans to build 1.5m homes across England in the next five years.

District Cllr Cupit, who represents Shirland, said: “It’s disappointing as this could have offered important protections for the area against issues like the mass development and pylons which Reform Derbyshire County Council claim to be against.”

The former county council Conservative administration expressed its opposition to the location of the National Grid pylon rollout plans across Derbyshire, between Chesterfield and Willington substations, with concerns for the countryside as long ago as 2024.

It also formally opposed the application due to the feared impact on several historic buildings, including Hardwick Hall, Sutton Scarsdale Hall, Ogston Hall, South Wingfield Manor, Locko Park, Elvaston Castle, the Swarkestone Causeway, along with the wider Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

The former Conservative administration had stated that an application to adopt an area of outstanding national beauty was planned to be made to Natural England but this would also have needed the agreement of the district councils in the area including Amber Valley Borough Council and North East Derbyshire District Council.

Residents have also shared significant concerns about National Grid’s plans for up to 50 metre tall high-voltage pylons to pass through Amber Valley potentially posing an impact on the area’s landscape, ecology and wildlife, as well as upon a local amenity area of high importance.

National Grid’s plans, which are so large they will be decided nationally by the secretary of state, would currently include 50-metre-tall pylons being built through Amber Valley from Clay Cross, past Alfreton and Ripley to Denby and Smalley.

The new Reform UK-led county council has agreed to oppose National Grid’s current plans to roll-out 60km of high electricity pylons across the county’s countryside and to urge the energy company to reconsider the route and explore less intrusive alternatives.

It also voted in October, 2025, to oppose the development of large-scale solar-panel farms and battery energy storage systems on greenfield sites in the county in what it claims is a bid to protect the area’s countryside and food security.

But the current Reform county council is now reviewing the plans for a National Landscape designation for Amber Valley that were aimed at preserving the area and granting it status as an official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

District Cllr Cupit added: “I am really disappointed the Reform Derbyhsire County Council administration have scrapped work on the National Landscape designation for Amber Valley, which would have also benefited North East Derbyshire areas like Shirland, Higham, Ashover and the edges of Clay Cross which have been or are under threat of significant housing developments or the 50 metre high pylon line.

“This designation would have recognised the beauty and irreplaceable nature of the countryside in our area which many residents and visitors enjoy – and prevented these development threats.

“Derbyshire Reform cite ‘cost savings’ but their claimed costs were mainly existing officer time, and campaign and resident groups were working along with us in support of this.

“Whilst the designation would have took time, as such an important thing should, it gains weight as you progress it. It’s also an example of Reform shouting hollow words – claiming they want to protect our countryside but then not following up one of the actual things they could do to get additional protections in place.”

Cllr Cupit claims that Amber Valley Reform members had recently shared National Landscape posts on Facebook but these were amended after it was pointed out that the county council was reviewing the plans.

She added that she understands Natural England is not accepting new National Landscape applications but she claims the former County Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, had received information that the council’s business case would have been considered for a decision.

The Amber Valley National Landscape Campaign, which was spearheaded by the former Conservative County Council Leader, Cllr Lewis, sought to preserve the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Amber Valley area.

The proposed National Landscape status would recognise the valley as a critical environmental and historical landscape, ensuring protections against unrestrained development and infrastructure projects that threaten its ecological integrity, scenic beauty, and cultural heritage, according to the campaign.

Cllr Dale added: “As a county council, we should be doing everything in our power to protect Derbyshire’s precious countryside from inappropriate development. That’s why it is so troubling that the Reform UK administration say they oppose pylons, mega solar farms and BESS sites on farmland, yet the very first chance they have to support the meaningful action we started with the campaign to protect our landscapes, they instead decide to scrap it.

“It exposes once again that Reform say one thing and then do opposite. Their rhetoric is completely hollow, and residents are right to question whether they can be trusted.”

Reform Cllr Stephen Reed said that the Conservatives made a decision concerning a bid to secure National Landscape status but took no further action and this matter has not been considered as a high priority by Natural England.

He added that the related Labour district councils also do not want to engage on the issue and it could involve a lengthy process at a time when Derbyshire’s councils are also facing the prospect of Local Government Reorganisation.

Cllr Wood said: “Protecting local interests and the countryside is one of our top priorities and we’re looking again at the potential for bidding for National Landscape accreditation for Amber Valley including parts of Clay Cross.

“But we’re also mindful of the advice from Natural England which is prioritising making decisions on four existing ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ proposals at other locations before accepting any new ones.

“Preparing such a bid would take a considerable amount of time and money with detailed evidence, technical information and studies required – and it’s unlikely that a bid for Amber Valley would be determined before the construction of the National Grid pylon project.

“With this in mind, we’re looking at the costs and benefits of submitting a bid while at the same time assessing the Local Plan to see what policies already exist and the level of protection they offer, as well as protections offered by the new National Planning Policy Framework.”