Opposition mounts in Louth area to hundreds of eyesore pylons 'decimating' countryside
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The pylons would be part of National Grid’s first overhaul of the UK’s electricity network, labelled the Great Grid Upgrade, for more than 60 years.
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Hide AdBut a public meeting, held in Huttoft on Monday night, heard that councillors and residents are vehemently against the scheme.
"The more people that are finding out about this, the more opposition there is,” Coun Danny Brookes, who is a member of East Lindsey District Council, told the Louth Leader.
"Once these pylons are up, they will be twice the size of the Clock Tower in Skegness. But it will be too late to complain then. Meetings like this are a useful way of getting the word out.
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Hide Ad"Why can’t cables be buried under the seabed? Instead they will be trailing right across the Lincolnshire countryside via pylons.”
National Grid has a total of 17 infrastructure projects in the pipeline in England and Wales, including a major £1 billion one that covers an area from Grimsby to Walpole in Norfolk.
A new high-voltage overhead transmission line is planned for Lincolnshire, as well a substation at Weston Marsh, near Spalding, two new connecting substations near the coast and the new pylons.
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Hide AdThe aim is to create cleaner, greener energy that will help the county reach net zero and, hopefully, cut the bills of consumers.
And the plans are in line with the new Labour government’s determination to fast-track its mission for ‘clean power’ to reduce energy costs and combat climate change.
However, Lincolnshire County Council has labelled the project fundamentally flawed and an attack on the countryside, including 80 miles of productive farmland, that could create eyesores and harm business and tourism.
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Hide AdCoun Colin Davie blasted: ”We will not back any plans that involve plastering Lincolnshire with industrial infrastructure that will destroy residents’ ability to enjoy the countryside.
"Along the proposed pylon route, there are communities that are worried about their homes, livelihoods and land.
"These residents cannot simply be told to ‘get over it because the country needs it’, as appears to be the new government’s position.”
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Hide AdThe county council’s stance was explained at Monday’s meeting, held at the Axe And Cleaver Inn, by Coun Colin Matthews, whose ward covers Alford and Huttoft.
"We don’t think National Grid has been fair and honest about this upgrade,” he told the Louth Leader. “Going under the sea would be much cheaper than pylons.
“We understand the need for to upgraded our energy infrastructure, but this is not the most sensible, economical way to do it.”
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Hide AdThe county council’s opposition has been taken up by lawyers, who have written to National Grid, asking for the data it has used to justify claims that pylons are cheaper than seabed cabling.
Leader Coun Martin Hill said: “We deserve to have the full information to ensure National Grid has truly considered all the options before decimating Lincolnshire’s countryside. Upgrades to national energy infrastructure need to be done properly.”
Alarmed residents have already formed a campaign group, No Pylons Lincolnshire, whose spokesperson said: “Lincolnshire is a special case because of its high-grade arable land. This is working land that feeds the nation.
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Hide Ad"We hope the new government weighs food security with energy security.”
Monday’s meeting was hosted by Sean Matthews, who came second for the Reform UK party in the Louth and Horncastle constituency at the summer general election, polling 25 per cent of the total vote.
In his election material, Mr Matthews made it clear one of his party’s aims was “to scrap nonsensical net-zero policies”.
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Hide AdHe said this week: “The objective of the public meeting was to consider all viewpoints and to facilitate discussion.”
A key speaker at the meeting was Andy Roberts, a sustainability consultant, who outlined the National Grid proposals and spoke about the potential implications for Huttoft and the wider area.
For National Grid, a spokesperson issued a statement to this newspaper. It read:
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Hide Ad"Our public consultations, held earlier this year, for the Grimsby to Walpole project, generated a lot of interest from stakeholders and local people.
"Nearly 4,000 people attended events in person and online across the region to view our proposals. These included detailed technology and cost options.
"We have received more than 7,000 pieces of response feedback, which is now being carefully reviewed and analysed before our next public consultations in 2025.
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Hide Ad"Our proposals in Lincolnshire are a critical part of the new electricity infrastructure required in the region.
"Connecting more green energy to the grid is the surest way to lower and stabilise bills for homes and businesses in the long term and, with more home-grown, renewable energy on the system, of improving our security of supply.
"The government and our regulator, Ofgem, require us to assess our proposals against a range of factors. These include value for money to bill-payers and the impact on the community and the environment to ensure they are in line with current planning policy, our licence obligations and net zero targets.”