Green GEN Cymru land access procedures criticised by High Court

Green GEN Cymru’s farmland access procedures have come under High Court scrutiny after a judge criticised a survey notice served on a Powys farmer.

The case highlighted concerns over statutory land access powers, farm biosecurity and the risk of livestock disease being spread during survey work.

Green GEN Cymru wants to build three power lines in mid and west Wales to connect planned wind farms to the wider grid network.

The legal challenge was brought by three claimants, including Powys farmer Natalie Barstow, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales and the Land Justice Coalition Ltd.

The judge found the claim was unsuccessful “in important respects”, but said it had led to changes in Green GEN Cymru’s procedures and approach.

Mr Justice Kimblin said a notice issued to Mrs Barstow in August 2024 did not comply with the relevant code of practice.

He described the notice as “unduly broad and lacking in particularity”.

The judge also said it was “a pro-forma notice which failed to either have regard to the circumstances which were relevant to the land or to the owners and the occupiers”.

The claimants alleged that Green GEN Cymru had used its powers unlawfully to force access onto private land and raised concerns about biosecurity risks, including bovine tuberculosis and sheep scab.

Green GEN Cymru denied the allegations and said the claimants were seeking to delay the projects.

The company said the importance of new grid infrastructure to connect renewable energy schemes to where electricity is needed “cannot be overstated”.

The case also referred to wildlife camera footage showing surveyors entering a brook at Mrs Barstow’s farm after she had been told a survey had been deferred.

Green GEN Cymru said the ecologists accessed the brook through neighbouring land, where a licence was in place, and believed it formed the boundary.

Mr Justice Kimblin found the entry was by mistake and described it as “minor and inadvertent”.

However, the ruling criticised aspects of Green GEN Cymru’s notice procedures and approach to biosecurity.

The judge said there was evidence that the company had, in some instances, served notices largely with regard to its own needs and with insufficient regard to proper notice and reasonable entry times.

“I find that the failure to grapple with the risks of transmission of bTB (bovine tuberculosis) to be the clearest example of a gap in the defendant’s insight into the justifiable needs and concerns of those whose land they would enter,” he said.

The judge noted that Green GEN Cymru had since introduced a standardised biosecurity protocol and improved the notices it issued.

The claimants were awarded 60% of their costs.

Green GEN Cymru said it acknowledged the judgment and said the ruling provided clarity on the use of statutory survey powers.

“The court acknowledged that changes have already been made to our procedures, practices, and approach and we will ensure that any further use of these powers reflects the judgment,” it said.

The company said environmental and technical surveys remained essential to developing major infrastructure responsibly.

It added that its preference was to work collaboratively with landowners and stakeholders, and that it would continue to prioritise dialogue, cooperation and voluntary agreements wherever possible.