A High Court judge has criticised Green GEN Cymru for its “failure to grapple” with the risk of spreading livestock diseases from farm to farm, after a group of farmers and landowners brought a judicial review against plans to build more than 200 kilometres of high-voltage pylons and substations through rural Wales.
In January 2026, community group Justice for Wales and charity CPRW secured permission to bring a claim against energy company Green GEN Cymru on four grounds, including alleged unlawful conduct, abuse of power, and disregard for biosecurity and environmental concerns.
Two additional grounds, initially refused, were subsequently granted permission to proceed by Lady Justice May on 2 April, allowing the claimants to challenge whether the use of Section 172 notices and the collection of landowners’ personal data – including land data – were lawful.
The challenge formed part of a wider judicial review hearing brought by 500 Welsh farmers and landowners who claimed to be facing the threat of losing their farmland, homes, and livelihoods to the pylon scheme.
In Barstow & Ors v Green Generation Energy Networks Cymru Ltd (Rev1) [2026] EWHC 1698 (Admin), handed down last week (6 July), Mr Justice Kimblin concluded that Green GEN Cymru should do more to give landowners proper notice and criticised its “failure to grapple” with the risk of spreading livestock diseases from farm to farm.
He said: “I accept that the Defendant [Green Gen Cymru] has sought to engage with landowners, particularly through the correspondence sent by its agents. There is some opposition to the Defendant’s scheme and some landowners do not wish to engage nor grant access. Those who oppose the scheme are not obliged to do otherwise. It is therefore necessary that the Defendant gives notice on the basis that it is proposing to do that which would otherwise be a trespass and therefore give notice of only such interference as is necessary for its statutory purpose.”
He continued: “I accept that there is evidence that the Defendant has in some instances served notices largely with regard to its own needs and with insufficient regard to the requirement to give proper notice and to enter land at reasonable times. I find that the failure to grapple with the risks of transmission of [bovine] TB 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.”
Green Gen Cymru will now have to pay 60% of the claimants’ costs, amounting to £21,000, alongside their own legal fees.
Discussing the degrees of success of the parties, Mr Justice Kimblin clarified: “The claimant sought declarations and obtained the declarations which the Court has made. However, the scope of the declarations sought was significantly more broad than those which have been made.
“This is not a case in which it is easy to identify the successful party”.
Mary Smith, a lawyer at New South Law, which acted on behalf of over 500 local farmers, businesses, and landowners, said: “Our clients have been vindicated. This is a powerful moment for hundreds of local people who have been subjected to years of aggressive tactics by Green GEN Cymru to enter their private land, in violation of the law.
“Your home is your sanctuary. That sanctuary has been disrupted over and over again by an energy company that has shown minimal regard for our clients’ welfare, the impact on their businesses and family life, and the safety of their livestock.
“[…] It should not have taken a high court case brought by a community group and charity on behalf of hundreds of landowners and occupiers to make sure developers comply with the law. Adequate regulation should be in place to govern energy company behaviour and to protect the public.
“Last year, twenty people, many of whom are our clients, were summoned to court for refusing to provide access to their land and faced with the threat of tens of thousands of pounds of costs if they lost. The High Court’s judgment now calls into question the legality of those summonses.”
Jonty Colchester, Chair of CPRW, The Welsh Countryside Charity and Co-Claimant, said: “This is a good result and we are pleased that the court has upheld our primary concern: unlawful entry. That finding matters. It raises serious questions about data gathered before the revised access protocol was introduced, and about the way rural communities, landowners and Welsh landscapes are treated in the development process.
“CPRW has always maintained that the protection of the Welsh countryside must go hand in hand with fairness, transparency and proper process. If data was obtained unlawfully over a two-year period, the implications are clearly significant.
“We are grateful to all those who have supported this case; while we did not succeed on every point, we prevailed on the key issue and are now seeking a clearer declaration from the court.”
Green GEN Cymru has been approached for comment.
A spokesperson for the organisation told the BBC it acknowledged the court’s judgement, which provided a “clear basis for future conduct and engagement”.
They said: “As we have consistently said, our preference remains to work collaboratively with landowners and stakeholders, and we will continue to prioritise dialogue, cooperation and voluntary agreements wherever possible.
“We are committed to carrying out our work responsibly, maintaining high standards of engagement, biosecurity and environmental care as we support the development of the infrastructure needed to deliver a secure and resilient energy network for Wales.”
Lottie Winson
https://jacothenorth.net/blog/tag/green-gen-cymru