New Forest pylon removal on hold

More than 200 residents opposed the plan to move power cables underground

Plans to remove electricity pylons from part of the New Forest have been put on hold following environmental concerns.

Eight pylons at Hale Perlieu were part of a National Grid scheme to reduce the visual impact of overhead cables.

Campaigners had called the plan to lay underground cables "potentially catastrophic".

The National Grid said it faced "emerging complexities" about regulations to protect natural habitats.

The work was part of its £500m Visual Impact Provision (VIP) to replace overhead pylons with underground cables at beauty spots.

The company said there had been "strong support" for the plan but the legal position was "complex".

It said: "While these regulations are designed to prevent the permanent loss of habitats, and not stop short-term work that we believe could have provided a net gain to the environment .... it is evident that the legal position is complex and, importantly, untested for a project of this nature."

'Unjustified abuse'

More than 200 residents opposed the plan.

The Protect Hale Perlieu Movement said National Grid was "driving a coach and horses" through environmental legislation and claimed burying cables would destroy sensitive habitats and lead to "heat dissipation" into the ground.

It said: "Just to marginally improve the view, this is a totally unnecessary desiccation for New Forest land and unjustified abuse of all national and international legislation.

"The treatment is far worse than the disease."

National Grid is continuing with its other VIP projects to replace pylons with underground alternatives in Peak District and Snowdonia National Parks.

Work to remove 22 pylons near the villages of Winterbourne Abbas and Martinstown in Dorset began earlier this year.