National Grid proposals to raise hundreds of miles of pylons have been slammed by furious locals worried about the impact on their house prices and mental health.
The utilities company has proposed projects in East Anglia, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Scotland as part of its upgrade to the UK’s grid.
One such scheme is the Grimsby to Walpole project which if built will see pylons across Lincolnshire and threatens to take large areas of agricultural land out of production, according to a local MP.
National Grid has been running consultations in communities where pylons might be built to boost capacity for electricity generated by wind and solar farms.
Anita Hunter, 69, from the village of Alvingham, said: “It can only be detrimental to the area. It’s a lovely part of the world and it is going to be spoilt by unsightly pylons.”
Reverend Robert Mansfield, vicar in nearby Stewton, told GB News: “I’m feeling very sad that intelligent people can’t come up with better alternatives than this.”
National Grid told the channel options other than pylons, such as underground cabling, would be too expensive for Lincolnshire’s route.
Steve Knight-Gregson, External Affairs Manager at National Grid, said because the cost of infrastructure goes onto everyone’s bills, the Government expects the company to keep costs as low as possible, but also to pay due regard to the environment.
Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman told the Commons in February: “National Grid’s Grimsby to Walpole project will see pylons driven across Lincolnshire’s beautiful landscapes and will take major chunks of some of this country’s best agricultural land out of production.”
He said it was vital residents responded to the consultation and that it was right that National Grid be told to consider food security as well as energy security when considering applications.
Energy minister Graham Stuart said the UK needs to be rewired in order to have homegrown energy, which means hosting new infrastructure.
He added the presumption is it should be above ground and done in a way which minimises any negative impact, including on food security.
Six thousand people have signed a petition against the 87 miles of overhead cables proposed between Grimsby and Walpole.
Tabitha Siddorn, who started the petition, told the BBC in January that her family of farmers had lived for generations in the village of Beesby, near Alford.
She said: “It’s a very scenic place where we live and to find out that National Grid is wanting to put these huge pylons along the countryside was really disheartening.”
Ms Siddorn claimed the proposals wouldn’t bring anything to Lincolnshire, arguing it would be power for London. She added: “They are going to be destroying wildlife and ruining the future of agriculture.”
