The Brinsworth to Chesterfield Project involves proposals for a new 400 kV substation (“the scheme”) on land east of Long Lane in Rotherham, South Yorkshire (“the site”).  This substation would enable us to uprate the existing 275 kV electricity transmission network between Brinsworth and Chesterfield to 400 kV.  This Project would also include works to connect the uprated network to a new substation near Chesterfield in Derbyshire as part of The Great Grid Upgrade. 

We need to build a new substation as there isn’t sufficient space to accommodate the additional equipment at the existing Brinsworth substation, off West Bawtry Road.  

The delivery of this Project would ensure that we continue to deliver electricity safely, reliably and efficiently to the customers and communities we serve - all while working towards building a cleaner, fairer and more affordable energy system for the future. 

Long Lane

The site is approximately 18 hectares (ha) and located to the east of Brinsworth and south west of Whiston. It predominantly comprises agricultural fields and includes a number of existing pylons. It's bound to the north by woodland and Whiston Brook, with agricultural fields and residential development beyond, bound by Long Lane to the west, and the M1 to the south. 

There are two Public Rights of Way (PRoW) within the site (Whiston Footpath 10 and Whiston Footpath 12) which run east to west through the site, connecting with an underpass under the M1 and a short network of pathways to the south. We’d need to slightly realign Whiston Footpath 10 along the south western side of the proposed substation due to our proposed earthworks but it would broadly maintain its existing west to east alignment, details of which have been provided as part of our planning application. 

The new 400 kV substation would be within a compound measuring approximately 252m x 196m and would include six overhead line gantries, which are bridge-like structures with platforms used to support equipment and cabling, protection isolation equipment, substation plant and new 400 kV substation control infrastructure. The compound would be surrounded by security fencing. 

The substation building would be the highest structure within the compound at approximately 14.5m. 

There would be extensive landscaping for this proposal that has been designed to provide environmental mitigation and satisfy the required 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). The landscaping design comprises: 

• a mixture of species rich hedgerow and shallow rooted hedgerow around various places of the site such as parallel to footpaths, around ditches and attenuation ponds; 
• an area of woodland in the south of the site;
• species-rich grassland planted within the western.eastern and northern areas of the site; and
• amenity grassland along the access road into the substation and along the western and southern boundaries of the substation.

We also propose overhead line connections to the new 400 kV substation at Long Lane to the wider network. This would include the installation of short stretches of overhead line between the new 400 kV substation and the existing overhead line, as well as the removal of some existing stretches of overhead line, together with the temporary works (temporary masts) required to make these permanent changes.