Is £250 a year enough for you to have a pylon ruining your view?

As part of its plans to streamline the planning process for much-needed infrastructure, the government has confirmed that it intends to give people a discount on their energy costs if they have new power pylons or other energy infrastructure built near their property. Outlining the plan, the housing and planning minister, Alex Norris, said that the discount could amount to £250 a year – around 12 per cent of the average household’s energy bill – for those living within 500 metres of new or upgraded structures.

‘If you’re making that sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community, you should get some of the money back,’ he said. Insisting that communities ‘need to share the benefits’ of the country’s move towards clean energy, he went on: ‘We think that’s a fair balance… people who are making that commitment to the country themselves, well, they should be rewarded for that.