Lincolnshire-to-Denmark power cable plan consultation starts

The project would see a convertor station built at Bicker in Lincolnshire

Plans for a 472-mile (760 km) long electricity cable between the UK and Denmark have gone out to public consultation.

If approved, the "Viking Link" - from Bicker Fen, Lincolnshire to Revsing - would enable import and export of power with mainland Europe.

A converter station would also be built in the village of Bicker, near Boston.

Lincolnshire County Council has raised concerns over the impact on tourism of the development.

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The project is a partnership between the Danish electricity transmission company Energinet.dk, and the UK's National Grid.

'Greater disruption'

"This will help provide Britain with a secure supply of affordable electricity and help the move towards more renewable and low carbon sources of energy," said a spokesman.

Three locations for the converter station have been identified and the developer said the six-week consultation process would "help us to identify where we should build our equipment".

The developer said project is expected to cost €2bn (£1.6bn) and is scheduled to begin operating in 2022.

In October, the county council raised objections to the scheme during its response to a planned offshore wind farm, which would see its connection to the national grid also located at Bicker Fen.

Conservative councillor Colin Davie said the authority had "serious concerns" about the two schemes.

"Each of these projects is likely to have significant impact on the local landscape and the local tourism industry. Combined, the consequences could be disastrous for the community," he said.

"In addition, there seems to be no co-ordination between the two, meaning even greater disruption for residents."