Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of different electricity generation technologies on archaeological sites; and whether she has plans to ensure that such factors are taken into account in trial trenching requirements.

Section 5.9 of the Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) sets out policy relevant to the Secretary of State’s consideration of impacts on the historic environment, including archaeological sites as part of the development consent process for nationally significant energy infrastructure projects. In considering any application for development consent, the Secretary of State considers all relevant matters including policy related to the historic environment.