Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils have expressed concerns over National Grid’s plans for a stretch of pylons between Norwich and Tilbury.
The trio’s argument is that the project, which is set to see 114 miles of pylons going through each of the counties, would have an extensive impact on landscapes and local communities. They also feel an offshore solution has not been investigated in sufficient depth. They made the case to National Grid that further investigation could show opportunities to coordinate an offshore solution with other large-scale energy projects that lie off the region’s coast.
With only a small percentage of the cabling set to go underground, the councils also stressed more would be needed. This is especially the case in the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as well as near Diss and the Waveney Valley.
Suffolk County Council Leader, Matthew Hicks, said: “Should proposals for the project progress, and further consultations take place, we would expect National Grid to invest a lot more time and effort in working with our local communities. These large schemes can be guilty of doing the minimum necessary when they should be working with local people and businesses as much as possible, who know the area and can help find the best solutions, should the project go ahead.”
