Pylons plan has 'stolen my happiness'

Gillian Palmer said the proposed pylons would be built 200m (656ft) from her house

Plans to build a row of pylons near a woman's home have "stolen" her happiness, she said.

National Grid wants to put up a 114 mile-long (184km) power line from Tilbury in Essex to Norwich, to carry electricity from offshore wind farms.

Gillian Palmer, who said the pylons would be built 200m (656ft) from her house near Bunwell, south Norfolk, said the proposal had already affected her daily life.

The energy company said it was its responsibility to connect new power into the national transmission system and get it to "where it is needed, safely and securely".

The pylons would pass through a meadow leading to the River Tas

The Norwich to Tilbury project would run between the existing substations at Norwich, Bramford in Suffolk and Tilbury, as well as connecting to new offshore wind farms.

The pylons would be 50m-high (164ft).

Mrs Palmer said: "I think this development, even the prospect of it, has stolen a lot of my happiness.

"I think of it every day. It's impossible for me to exist in the countryside I love without imagining these horrible, huge pylons dominating everything and spoiling what we hold dear."

National Grid is planning to build 114 miles (184km) of pylons across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex

The new power line forms part of the Great Grid Upgrade, which is being described as the largest overhaul of the electricity system in generations.

It aims to boost the government's plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

It also wants to connect 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

A 10-week statutory public consultation is currently being held into the Norwich to Tilbury scheme, with events in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

Campaigners are calling for the power cables to be connected out at sea or run underground.

But National Grid said it would cost more, resulting in higher bills for customers.

Resident Duncan Forrest said the proposal was affecting people's mental health

Duncan Forrest also lives in Low Common and said the proposed pylon route would cut across a field at the back of his garden.

"It's devastating," he said. "This is affecting people's mental health.

"Our property price will be devalued enormously, perhaps 30% or 50% or even be unsaleable.

"It's going to change everything irrevocably for generations."

Campaigners are calling for the power cables to be connected out at sea or run underground

The proposals have attracted opposition from campaigners, county and district councils and many of the region's MPs.

On Tuesday, Suffolk County Council announced its cabinet would formally object and call for a pause to consider other options.

Norfolk county councillors are also being urged by the authority's planners to call for the current proposal to be paused, but the council has yet to decide its response to the statutory consultation.

National Grid said the proposed line was needed to carry electricity from offshore wind farms

In a statement, National Grid said: "The Norwich to Tilbury onshore project is critically important in achieving the government's target to connect 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.

"Delaying this vital infrastructure project would not only result in missing this target, but also delay homes and businesses in East Anglia and beyond having access to cleaner and more affordable electricity in the long term."

The public consultation runs until 18 June.

If approved by the government, building work could start in 2027, with the new line working by 2031.