Frequently Asked Questions
To minimise disruption to residents, no construction traffic will be directed through Navenby village. Travel to the site, both during construction and once the site is operational, will be via the A15 and Heath Lane. To support this, we will also provide clear signage around the location during construction to make sure our vehicles use the agreed traffic measures.
We are also proposing a temporary speed limit of 30mph along Heath Lane, during construction, to enhance safety as a result of slow-moving vehicles entering and leaving the site.
The Great Grid Upgrade is the largest overhaul of the grid in generations and will future proof the Grid for years to come, facilitating the transition to a clean and affordable energy future. It will enable us to carry more clean, secure energy from where it is generated to where it is needed, boosting energy security and helping the nation become more self-sufficient.
Projects which are part of The Great Grid Upgrade aim to enhance the grid's capacity to handle increased renewable energy, ensuring a reliable and sustainable power supply.
Find out more about The Great Grid Upgrade.
National Grid sits at the heart of Britain’s energy system, connecting millions of people and businesses to the energy they use every day. We bring energy to life – in the heat, light and power we bring to our customer’s homes and businesses; in the way that we support our communities and help them to grow; and in the way we show up in the world. It’s our vision to be at the heart of a clean, fair and affordable energy future.
National Grid is a group of companies, and one of those companies, National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), owns, builds and maintains the high voltage network in England and Wales. It is NGET who is developing plans for the Navenby Substation project.
Within the National Grid Group there are other distinctly separate legal entities, each with their individual responsibilities and roles. More information about National Grid can be found on the ‘about us’ section of National Grid’s website.
NGET owns, builds and maintains the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales. This network operates primarily at 400,000 volts (400kV) and 275,000 volts (275kV).
National Grid Electricity Transmission is consulting on proposals to build a new substation in the local area, approximately 1.4km from Navenby, Lincolnshire.
There is a shift towards renewable energy sources, meaning there is greater demand on our network to connect new sources of electricity and customers. The proposed substation at Navenby is in response to the increase in connection requests through the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and increased consumption of electricity that will continue to grow. In the Navenby area several developers have requested new power connections from National Grid, including Springwell Solar and Fosse Green and, as a regulated business, we have a legal obligation to meet these requests.
The substation will be set back from the road and cover approximately 32 acres. It will be an ‘open air’ substation, with the equipment installed on site a maximum height of 15 metres. The proposed substation is contained within one site and will facilitate the seven customers that currently need to connect to Navenby Substation.
Access and transport will be considered as part of our planning application. This will include an estimation of vehicle numbers and types, and will consider the potential impact of this on the existing traffic numbers. We will put in place a Traffic Management Plan to help reduce disruption.
In the Navenby area several developers have requested new power connections from National Grid, and as a regulated business, we have a legal obligation to meet these requests. Due to the number of requests in the local area, a new substation is required to connect these developers.
There is the potential of some noise during construction, but our contractors will regularly monitor noise to ensure it stays within the levels permitted under local environmental health requirements.
We don’t anticipate any significant noise when the proposed new substation is operational. Typically, substations generate a low frequency ‘hum’, similar to the sound from overhead lines when operational. However, to support our planning application, we will be carrying out acoustic surveys to assess background and operational noise, which will also inform whether we need to consider any mitigation measures, such as landscaping and acoustic fencing, to minimise any potential impacts on surrounding residential areas.
We have agreed with the Local Authority that the noise assessment process will be defined by the British Standard BS4142 ‘Method for rating and assessing industrial and commercial sound’, which considers the potential for noise impact at the quietest times of the day or night. BS4142 also applies corrections to noises that may be considered out of character with the local environment.
Following this process will enable us to define any appropriate noise mitigation measures. We would aim to ensure that any new noise does not exceed the representative nighttime background noise level at surrounding residences, although this may not always be possible in all cases. As a result, we anticipate that any change in noise emissions due to the operation of the new substations will be fully controlled and minimised.
We’ll ensure that any light pollution is kept to minimum during construction and when the substations are operational. Substations aren’t generally lit or permanently illuminated, other than sensor-activated security lighting for nighttime access.
We are currently undertaking a programme of archaeological surveys, and once we are able to share further information from these surveys, this section will be updated.
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is being carried out to assess the likelihood of the planned works giving rise to significant effects on the environment. The EIA is informed by assessments on areas including ecology, species, habitats, flood risk, transport, heritage, landscape and views, and ground conditions. Once we are able to share further information from these surveys, this section will be updated.
Some of our customers have received Gate 2 offers for their plans from the National Energy System Operator (NESO). As such, if any of these receive planning consent, we must be ready to provide them with connections to the National Grid. Therefore, we have submitted our planning application build a new substation to North Kesteven District Council.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) oversees, plans and operates Great Britain’s electricity and gas networks. NESO is responsible for ensuring a secure, reliable energy supply, supporting the transition to net zero and integrating renewable energy sources into the National Grid. You can find out more at https://www.neso.energy.
We work closely with NESO – Great Britain’s energy network planner – to understand what grid reinforcements are needed for now and the future. This helps us invest strategically, futureproofing our network by building capacity into new or existing substations to accommodate future demand. Taking this approach means that while we’re developing our new substations to meet today’s connection requirements, we’re also able to accommodate future generation and demand projects – reducing potential disruption for local communities later down the line.
Investing ahead of need, and with an eye to the future, has potential to create significant connections capacity over the coming years, supporting development of a strategically planned electricity network to support the energy transition.
For information about customer projects, please visit https://www.neso.energy.
No. The size of the proposed substation will remain the same as outlined at our consultation event in September 2024. This approach means that the proposed substation is able to meet today’s connection requirements and future demand.
The process with NESO is still underway and more information on what further connections are expected will be shared once this is completed.
No. Our consultation for Navenby substation closed on 17 October 2024. There will be an opportunity to provide feedback to North Kesteven District Council once the planning application is submitted, via the planning portal. We will notify local residents and stakeholders to advise of these details when available.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about our proposals, contact our community relations team on 0800 3196 183 or email us by clicking the button below.
You can also write to our team using our freepost address:
Navenby Substation, Freepost FEEDBACK (no stamp or further address required).