Consultation over pylon plan coming to an end

The plan for more pylons forms part of National Grid's Great Grid Upgrade

A public consultation over plans to install a new line of overhead electricity pylons through Lincolnshire ends later.

National Grid is planning to install 420 pylons up to 164ft (50m) high along an 87 mile (140km) stretch between Grimsby and Walpole in Norfolk.

The infrastructure operator said the the pylon network was “needed urgently to connect new green energy to the grid”.

But a petition against the plan has attracted more than 6,000 signatures and Lincolnshire County Council confirmed it could take legal action.

The proposals form part of The Great Grid Upgrade, which is claimed to be the largest overhaul of the grid in generations.

A Facebook group, No Pylons Lincolnshire, has more than 3600 members and the leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Martin Hill, described the plan as a "blight on the landscape".

Marc Jones, the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said the proposal posed a "serious risk" to the emergency services critical communications network.

In response to those concerns, National Grid said it operates and maintains 7,000km of existing high voltage overhead electricity line across England and Wales "without interference issues to existing emergency services operations".

It added: “When we propose any new equipment, we have an obligation under the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations to ensure we do not impact third party operations, which we commit to for every project.

"This will be achieved through our overhead line design, which limits radiofrequency emissions to British Standards and careful routeing for very localised effects. We will work with statutory stakeholders as we develop our proposals further.”

Installing pylons would cost around £1bn compared to £4.3bn to put them offshore, said National Grid.

The project will be paid for by customers through their bills over the next 40 years.

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