National Grid's Great Grid Upgrade: Chesterfield to Willington
The National Grid is in the process of the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in generations - The Great Grid Upgrade is a series of infrastructure projects across England and Wales, which are helping to connect more affordable sources of home-grown and renewable energy to homes and businesses.
Part of the upgrade it the proposed construction of a new 400 kV overhead line to run between Chesterfield and Willington in Derbyshire. Route Selection 1: Chesterfield to Tibshelf of the Proposed Route Alignment will cross land owned by the National Trust on the Hardwick estate west of the M1.
At the beginning of March this year, the National Grid opened a stage 2 public consultation for their plans for this section of the network. We have given the proposals careful consideration and commissioned independent experts to investigate the impact of the plans.
On 28th April 2026, National Trust issued a holding objection to this stage 2 consultation on heritage impact grounds due to the significant impacts on the setting and significance of Hardwick.
While we at the National Trust understand the need for a reliable and secure energy network that supports the UK’s net zero emissions target, the transition needs to be undertaken in a way which recognises and protects nature, landscape and heritage.
Visualisations shown to us by National Grid confirmed that 7 pylons would break the ridge and skyline in the west view from the roofs of both halls which is one of the last remaining views out into the surrounding landscape from Hardwick not to be eroded by infrastructure.
The independent review of the proposals affecting the Hardwick estate has also found that there would be significant impact. The review found a number of concerns including:
- The assessment provided by National Grid is lacking sufficient detail to fully understand the impact of the Project (56m high pylons) on significance of the Hardwick Hall Estate.
- To fully understand the impacts on the historic environment, effects on all buildings, gardens, parkland and notable structures on the estate should be assessed, including the Hardwick Hall Registered Park and Garden, Hardwick and Rowthorne Conservation Area and the eight additional listed buildings associated with the Hall.
- The National Grid assessment does not currently consider the importance of the relationship between the mix of historic elements of the Estate, nor does it evaluate the relationship between the Hardwick Hall Estate and other heritage assets within the wider landscape.
- The assessment overlooks the Hardwick Old and New Halls prominence with the pylons introducing competition.
- The assessment overlooks the importance of the contents of the west facing view and how the landscape itself, not just its visibility, is an important part of the setting of the hall.
- The assessment overlooks the architectural design of the hall and how this relates to its setting.
- In terms of landscape impacts, the National Grid’s Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PEIR) identifies major adverse effects on visitors at Hardwick Hall with new power line most visible from the terraces of Hardwick Hall and this effect will be high magnitude resulting in major adverse effects.
- National Grid has explained why the Stage 1 route became less attractive but has not yet proven that the Stage 2 route is the route with least overall harm or that the engineering and cost advantages said to support it have been properly balanced against landscape, heritage and visitor experience considerations.
As a result of these findings, we are deeply concerned about the heritage impact of the proposed plans, and we have submitted our holding objection to National Grid as part of the consultation process.