The Landscape Institute strongly advocates for a landscape-led approach to National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) projects under Ofgem’s RIIO-3 price control, moving beyond simple mitigation to deliver net positive environmental and social outcomes.
Our response highlights two major areas for increased ambition:
- Beyond Minimum Biodiversity: We strongly oppose Ofgem’s view that consumer funding should not cover biodiversity outcomes beyond the 10% legal minimum. Additional investment is necessary to align with the UK’s commitment to reversing nature loss. This is supported by the public, and is essential for implementing policies like Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Rejecting this funding undermines the polluter-pays principle and years of constructive engagement.
- Ambitious Environmental Action Plans (EAPs): EAPs must abandon a “mitigate and compensate” mindset and adopt natural systems-thinking and an integrated design process. This ensures that network solutions, such as nature-based flood management, deliver multiple benefits: climate resilience, biodiversity, and improved visual amenity, often at a lower long-term cost than hard-engineered solutions.
Design and Management
We urge that major design choices (e.g. Gas/Air Insulated Switchgear) are made early in the optioneering process to allow for holistic, master-planned mitigation. We also request that vegetation management and monitoring is funded in perpetuity for network-owned land, securing long-term habitat function.
Read the full LI RIIO-3 summary for detailed recommendations.
