Crickheath villagers on windfarm pylon route 'don't have voice'

Sarah and Shaun Sheppard, and Fiona Davis, said the wires will come close to their homes in Shropshire

People on the route of a planned power line said they "don't have a voice" over the final decision.

Bute Energy said the pylons were needed to get power from windfarms in mid-Wales to the National Grid in Shropshire.

The company says its 27-metre steel lattice pylons were less obtrusive than similar plans in the past.

Villagers in Crickheath said the route felt like a "done deal" following a six-week consultation.

The Vyrnwy Frankton Connection would take power from a substation at Cefn Coch in Powys and through the Vyrnwy valley to the existing high-voltage network near Lower Frankton near Ellesmere.

The firm said the development was necessary if the UK and Welsh governments were to meet their net zero targets.

Villagers said the new structures would be twice as tall as existing pylons

Resident Shaun Sheppard said the route would run about 150m (500ft) from his home and almost adjacent to those of his neighbours.

"We're concerned enough to want to say something because we don't feel we have a voice in these matters. Schemes like this are designed in London and Cardiff and they just get dumped on us here in the rural environment," he said.

Neighbour Fiona Davis told BBC Radio Shropshire the new structures would dwarf those already there.

"If you look behind us there's already a pylon that's very high as it is - and that's half the size of the proposed pylons."

Green GEN Cymru, part of the Bute Energy Group, said its pylons would be shorter and less bulky than those proposed for a similar scheme which was shelved in 2015. It added it would consider whether any of the cables needed to be placed underground.

The firm said it would review feedback from residents following the consultation which ended on 18 October and would respond to issues raised, ahead of another consultation in mid-2024.

"We know that people have differing views on new infrastructure, and we are focused on causing the least disturbance to the environment and those who live, work and enjoy recreation close to our proposals," a spokesperson added.