Thousands against Shropshire pylon proposals

Thousands of people have objected to possible plans by the National Grid for extra pylons across Shropshire.

More than 6,000 people attended shows explaining plans to connect wind farms in Powys to the electricity transmission network in Shropshire.

A new substation would be built and pylons or underground cables would carry the electricity across Shropshire to the national transmission network.

The majority of responses objected to the use of pylons.

The first phase of the consultation was to gauge opinion on the siting of the proposed substation in Powys and 10 potential routes for a connection to the national electricity network in Shropshire.

An announcement of the preferred route will be made this winter and a further round of exhibitions is planned for 2012.

'Key decisions'

Jeremy Lee, National Grid project manager for the Mid-Wales connection project, said he understood people's concerns about the appearance of pylons but added they were "at a very early stage in this project".

He said: "We haven't made any of these key decisions on which routing options we might take, or even which technology we might put within the chosen routing options. Underground cables are a real possibility for some, or perhaps even all of this route."

The final plans will be decided before National Grid puts in a planning application, expected in 2013.

There are due to be two more rounds of consultation before the planning application is finalised.

If approved, National Grid hopes to start work in 2014.