I have had a number of constituents contact me about the imposition Pylons in our area.
I am a member of the OFFSET group of MPs who are campaigning against these plans. The Great Grid Upgrade is an enormous and necessary upgrade to our electricity grid to serve the UK’s growing energy needs – long overdue, the biggest upgrade to the grid since the 1950s. Other parts of the country are seeing pylons taken down, as part of National Grid’s Visual Impact Provision Programme – which aims to, in National Grid’s own words, ‘conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife, and environmental heritage within our most protected landscapes’ and to avoid ‘unacceptable environmental impacts’. In Dorset, the removal of 22 pylons and 9km of overhead cable in 2022. Similarly, in areas of Wiltshire, National Grid has started its work to replace 5 km of overhead power lines with underground cables in the Wessex Downs.
It is unacceptable that they are, at the same time, looking to drive pylons through our countryside. It is not just the beauty of the countryside which matters, it is also a working area. The NFU is also calling on Government to move as much of the network as possible offshore to avoid disruption.
It is in my view, deeply regrettable that National Grid has failed to make available to consultees detailed and fully costed plans on each of the available options. These being overground, underground and offshore. There must be a holistic and independent review where all options are given not just greater, but equal consideration. Proposals and costings should take a wider view, not just looking at the costs of the construction and infrastructure, but also the impact that such projects have on industries such as tourism and agriculture.
