A scheme to give a “major reinforcement” to the electricity network through a County Durham site has won approval.
National Grid says the electricity link will create a "renewable energy superhighway" taking clean, green energy under the North Sea from Scotland to England.
The plan is expected to bring 95 to 110 construction workers at a time - up to a peak of 300 to 350 - as the new electricity stations are built on fields near Murton over a 38-month period.
The National Grid applied for permission for a new 400kV electricity substation with a converter station at the Hawthorn Grid Site, near Jade Business Park, Murton.
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The outline plan was said to be an essential part of the Scotland-England Green Link 1 scheme.
This will provide electrical connection via 192km of cable between Torness in East Lothian and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham.
The cable will reach land just north of Seaham then run underground for about 10km to the new Hawthorn Pit stations, connecting to the main electricity network.
Two letters of objection raised issues of losing open space, noise, traffic, need, flood risk and impact on wildlife, Durham County Council’s planning committee heard.
Senior planning officer Chris Shields said the concerns were taken into account and balanced against the benefits, landowners were notified and consultations carried out.
He said the plan’s scale was “necessary for it to operate effectively” and its location at Hawthorn Pit carefully selected for transmission benefits.
He added: “Whilst it is accepted that the proposed development would have a small impact to the landscape, it is considered that the benefits of the development in terms of energy supply and security, biodiversity enhancement and job creation would outweigh that harm.”
Officers recommended the plan for approval.
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Consents officer Hugh Smith from National Grid said: "Some of the work that we'll be doing will be highly specialised contractors that do very specialist stuff around the world.
"But we would be very much looking to recruit locally where we can. We will be looking to use local businesses as far as we can.
"Where we work in communities we tend to be there for 20, 30, 40, 50 years. We recognise that we're part of that community and we want to give back to our communities.
"We prefer to be greeted with open arms rather than pitchforks so it's very much in our interests to look to recruit locally."
He said the site would be quiet with equipment mostly indoors and underground.
He added: "We take environmental management of our property and the places that we work in very seriously. There will be an environmental management plan and regular weekly and daily checks."
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Councillor David Boyes, representing Easington, said: "I'm quite happy with the scale and size of it. It shouldn't impact on the conservation area.
"This is something I would have to whole-heartedly support.
"I think just in terms of energy security and resilience, which is very topical at the moment, I think we need to pull out all the stops so than we can try and ensure we can sort out our homegrown energy within the UK."
Cllr Carl Marshall said: "I think this is a really positive application. It doesn't seem to be too contentious with local people. It's been well thought through."
Cllr Maura McKeon said: "There was once a time when our county was the energy production centre of the country, I would argue the world.
"At the time when we're seeing such a crisis in energy, I think it's really lovely that the county can give back again in this way. I think it's clearly something we need nationally."
The plan was approved unanimously by councillors on the committee.
After the meeting, National Grid project director Neil Lyons said: “We are delighted that our plans for the English onshore elements of Scotland to England Green Link 1 (SEGL1) have been approved by Durham County Council.
"Once fully approved and complete, this renewable energy superhighway will make a significant contribution to the drive to net zero by 2050, alongside increasing the UK’s energy security.”
If all permissions are given, National Grid expect to begin construction in autumn 2024 and finish in 2027.
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