Thank you for contacting me regarding Plaid’s motion to update Planning Policy Wales.
My Welsh Conservative colleagues and I will be supporting Plaid’s debate motion on Wednesday 12th June which asks the Welsh Government to update Planning Policy Wales paragraph 5.7.9 to remove the existing caveat so that the undergrounding of new infrastructure for conveying electricity shall be an absolute rather than a preferred position.
The Welsh Conservatives have also put an amendment in which calls on the Welsh Government to ensure that, in accordance with the precautionary principle, proposals for the undergrounding of new power lines should require health impact assessments when their proximity to dwellings raises serious future health concerns. Though we believe this is an important addition, we are happy to support Plaid’s motion unamended as we feel it is a significant issue.
Earlier this year, the Senedd Climate Change, Infrastructure, and Environment Committee (the CCEI) considered proposed amendments to the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill. Janet Finch-Saunders MS, on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives, tabled amendments at stage 2 and stage 3 that sought to bring the undergrounding of electricity cables into the regime established by the Bill, but these were not passed as they were rejected by the Welsh Government.
Planning Policy Wales clearly states cables should be undergrounded but developers often say it is not financially viable. All these developments should be designed, in the first instance, to comply with Planning Policy Wales. However, too often developers use cost as an excuse to circumvent the planning policies here in Wales. Welsh Ministers need to be a lot stronger in following their own guidance.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Kind regards,