Electricity pylon network risks harming rural Kent

National Grid has outlined plans for a network of pylons to connect Kent to offshore wind farms

A new line of towering electricity pylons cutting through rural Kent has been outlined by National Grid.

But campaigners have warned the series of pylons to connect Kent to offshore wind farms would "trash" an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The pylons, which would be at least 36m (118 ft) tall, would be erected between Richborough and Sellindge.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England said the proposals are "unacceptable" and would harm the Kent Downs National Landscape.

National Grid’s Electricity System operator (ESO) has published a report called "Beyond 2030", which proposes a £58 billion investment in the electricity grid to meet the growing and decarbonising demand for electricity in Great Britain by 2035.

The report recommends new offshore infrastructure to link Kent to offshore wind farms in Scotland and Suffolk.

ESO said pylon towers are "cheaper, more flexible and vital" to transport power from where it is generated.

Development consent is required for most overhead lines in England and planning authorities have the right to object to an application.

The CRPE said it understands "the importance of decarbonising our energy supply", but there "has to be limits".

'Consultation'

Spokesman David Mairs said: "Pylons over an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is not acceptable.

"It is not green energy when it trashes the countryside."

He said the CPRE would like to see more investment in local networks but said if the proposals do become concrete "there needs to be a full and sensible consultation".

Calls to bury power cables on a similar project completed in 2019 were ignored by National Grid, reports KentOnline.

The CPRE is also campaigning in Kent against plans for a substation and converter station at Minster.

Fintan Slye, executive director of the ESO, said Britain's electricity system is the "backbone of our economy and must be fit for our future".

He said: “To deliver the clean, secure, decarbonised system set out by government...we must take swift, coordinated and lasting action working collaboratively across all parts of the energy sector, government, the regulator and within our communities.”