BENTLEY – Residents in one of East Yorkshire’s smallest villages are calling for a reduction of energy bills due to plans for energy projects on their doorstep.
With a population of just 22, the tiny hamlet of Bentley between Cottingham and Beverley is recorded in the Domesday Book and in the next few years it is set to host a series of new energy infrastructure developments.
Resident John Tunnicliffe said he supports renewable energy but is worried about the impact the projects will have on the area.
“I’ve got solar panels covering the roof of my house so I appreciate the need for this type of infrastructure but it’s quite daunting to think we are going to have all this to the north, south, west and east of us.”
The plans include two converter stations for separate offshore wind farm projects, a new substation connection to the National Grid along with additional overhead pylons and a 200-acre solar farm all less than a mile away.
They will join a nearby offshore wind convertor complex which is already nearing completion.
Mr Tunnicliffe added: “While there is only going to be disruption for a few years, the converter stations and the substations are going to be with us for the next 30 years at least.
“I know there are plans to give people discounts on their energy bills if they live within a certain distance of a new pylon but I don’t think that goes far enough.
“I believe we shouldn’t have to pay anything at all while all the development work is going on because we are literally having to shoulder all of this on behalf of the rest of the country.”
Third generation farmer John Clappison faces pylons being installed on the land he works on just outside Bentley as part of the National Grid’s proposed new overhead power line between East Yorkshire and High Marnham in Nottinghamshire.
“Some of the consultation has been better than others but it’s hard dealing with so many companies,” Mr Clappison said.
“The people who live and work here need to get some real financial benefit from it as well as all the promised environmental improvements that come with these kinds of developments.”
Parish council chairman Andrew Woodall is another local third-generation farmer.
He said long-standing local community fund initiatives created by onshore wind farm operators over a decade ago in the East Riding should be an automatic requirement for approval of the new schemes.
“The people who live and work here need to get some real financial benefit from it as well as all the promised environmental improvements that come with these kinds of developments.”
Mr John Clappison, Bentley Resident.
“As a farmer, if we are going to give up land then there has to be some give and take, not just for the landowners but also tenant farmers who need to earn a living from the land.”
Councillor Richard Meredith is chairman of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s environment and regeneration scrutiny committee and represents Bentley and the surrounding area.
He said: “The major infrastructure works being proposed to run a new chain of pylons from the Humber to High Marnham can be viewed as either incredibly positive or frustrating dependent upon perspective.
“The £400 million being spent to see the power generated here transported to where it is needed in the Midlands solidifies our reputation as the Energy Estuary. This in turn secures jobs and investment which is fantastic for local people and our economy.
“Unfortunately farmers have been impacted with regular surveys affecting planting and the time they have had to devote to engaging with National Grid has been significant.
“The consultation feels more like an explanation with little in the way of meaningful change proposed in the draft designs.”
As well as ensuring local community benefits were delivered alongside new schemes, Cllr Meredith said the government needed to improve its approach to energy infrastructure management.
“Currently there are next to no controls in place. The council has tried to see some semblance of controls brought in so that the planning system can manage things like protecting farmland and preventing oversaturation and cumulative impact.
“Sadly these requests were recently dismissed by the Minister for Energy Michael Shanks.”
It is entirely reasonable that local residents who are heavily impacted both before and after onshore renewable power projects should be generously compensated.