High-profile pleas for ‘pylon-free solutions’ and ‘fairer treatment for East Anglia’ have been issued in response to the latest plans for a new power line through the Suffolk countryside.
National Grid concluded on Friday its second round of a statutory consultation for a planned power line reinforcement from Norwich to Tilbury, to transmit energy generated at offshore wind farms.
The proposed pylon route runs through south Suffolk, with undergrounding through the Dedham Vale Area of Natural Beauty.
However, the consultation received formal objections from Suffolk County Council, district councils in Babergh and Braintree, and the MP for South Suffolk.
Opponents of the scheme have repeatedly stressed the need to consider alternatives to on-shore overhead pylons.
Conservative MP James Cartlidge, who was re-elected in South Suffolk earlier this month, highlighted the discrepancy in funding for sub-sea cabling in northern Britain, compared with the east.
“My main priority has always been to achieve a fair deal for my constituents in East Anglia,” he said.
“We are bill payers, too, and are, in part, funding the significant infrastructure being pursued in Scotland and the north of England, to the benefit of their residents.
“Crucially, by National Grid’s own admission, this infrastructure is primarily going offshore to significantly reduce its impact on communities.
“Why can’t we receive the same treatment, when the scale of sub-sea cabling agreed is now almost 20:1 in favour of Scotland and the north of England, compared to East Anglia?
“The majority of my affected constituents prefer an offshore or underground alternative to proposed pylons, as is self-evident from their many responses to the consultation.”
It comes after the new Labour Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, insisted that ‘tough decisions’ would be required to de-carbonise Britain in the long-term.
At the launch of the new state-run GB Energy company, the PM confirmed he would push for additional transmission infrastructure to achieve net-zero targets and reduce energy bills.
“We will take the tough decisions to make this work,” said Mr Starmer. “It’s the failure to take the tough decisions that has caused over a decade of lost opportunity.”
Following the conclusion of the latest consultation, National Grid is expected to submit a full application to the Planning Inspectorate next year.
Since it first proposed the Norwich to Tilbury reinforcement, the company has maintained that, without the scheme, there will be insufficient transmission capacity by 2030.
It has also claimed that other forms of infrastructure would be far more expensive to implement, and that the on-shore pylons are the only viable option.
However, opponents have pointed to the findings of the East Anglia Network Study by National Grid’s own Electricity System Operator (ESO).
This indicated that some alternative schemes are feasible on a technical and financial level – such as high voltage direct current (HVDC) underground cabling.
In addition, the Hiorns Smart Energy Networks report – commissioned by Suffolk and Norfolk county councils – suggested that there is scope for the project to be delayed and re-assessed.
In submitting its formal objection, Suffolk County Council argued that the impact of the pylon plans “go beyond the aesthetics of the project”.
The authority’s concerns include the harm to national landscapes, the consequences of HGV construction traffic on rural roads, and the serious implications for local airfields.
Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s deputy cabinet member for nationally significant infrastructure projects, said: “Pylon-free solutions remain possible.
“National Grid and Ofgem need to take these seriously and fully assess the options.
“I am grateful to members of the public, councillors at all levels, and our staff, who have worked tirelessly across our communities, highlighting the deficiencies of this scheme.
“From the impact on private airfields and public rights of way, and damage to our unique landscapes and ecology, all of these issues have improved the quality of our submission.
“The Hiorns report, which we commissioned with Norfolk County Council, summarises that there is the opportunity to pause development of the Norwich to Tilbury project.
“This is something which must be recognised, so that the best possible solution can be explored to help provide energy security to the country, while being fair to the many communities that will be affected.
“The proposals for this project do not go far enough. I will not stand for our communities being swept aside and ignored in the pursuit of unnecessarily, fast-tracked energy projects.”
South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge added: “Crucially, through the ESO East Anglia Network Study, an underground HVDC alternative was found to be cost comparable to pylons, assuming a 2034 baseline.
“It is now extremely overdue for National Grid to explain to my constituents why they have been treated as second-class citizens.
“They are not entitled, for some reason, to even have other options considered by National Grid, when the same company is spending billions on such solutions elsewhere in the UK.
“All we want is to be afforded the same protections in East Anglia, and I will continue to fight for my constituents to be treated more fairly.”
Published by the Suffolk Free Press.
