Labour has shared its plans to give certain households up to £250 a year off their energy bills as the part of major changes to planning rules in the UK.
The government has previously said it wants to boost the number of infrastructure projects by cutting red tape in the planning system. This includes homes, railways and power systems like pylons.
The changes will means that local residents are less able to veto new projects in their areas if they disagree with them. Anticipating pushback on this, ministers have now begun promising incentives to those who will be affected.
Households living within half a kilometre of new or upgraded power systems such as pylons could get access to a bill discount scheme equivalent to an annual payment of £250 over 10 years, with housing minister Alex Norris saying people who make the “sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community” should get some of the money back.
This would mean a £2,500 reduction over a decade, making for major savings at a time when energy bills remain stubbornly high.
Mr Norris told Sky News: “As part of our plan for change, those are all our commitments around being a clean energy superpower.
“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 Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also confirmed that a legal requirement for communities affected by new infrastructure projects will be introduced through Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill next week.
This will mean communities could get £200,000 worth of funding per km of overhead electricity cable in their area, and £530,000 per substation. An upcoming project like the SSEN Transmission power line between Tealing and Aberdeenshire could means locals could benefit from £23 million investment, for example.
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: “We owe it to the people of this country to get Britain building again. It is no longer a question of whether we build the new infrastructure we need but a question of how and this must be done in lockstep with local communities.
“This government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill will slash energy bills for local people living near new projects, so they benefit as we drive forward in our mission to achieve a more prosperous and energy secure future for the next generation.
“This is delivering on our Plan for Change to accelerate growth in every region across the country, raising living standards and putting more money back into the pockets of working people and families.”
