Pylon plans could be ‘tip of the iceberg’ says councillor following new report

The ‘Beyond 2030’ report lays out their recommendations for how the offshore and onshore network should develop throughout the 2030s.

Both Coun Colin Davie, executive councillor for economic development, environment and planning at Lincolnshire County Council, and MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman have reacted to the report.

Coun Davie said: “With an entire page of the report dedicated to Lincolnshire, it’s clear that National Grid’s plans to run 50m pylons all down our east coast could be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to large-scale energy infrastructure projects earmarked for the county.

“Throughout the report it emphasises that upgrading the country’s energy infrastructure needs to be done swiftly.

"The county council will ensure that this ‘need for speed’ does not come at the expense of proper, in-depth analysis of the impacts big projects will have on our landscape and our communities, and that all options are explored to keep those impacts to an absolute minimum.

“Be it pylons, substations, or new cable connections bringing energy onshore from windfarms out in the North Sea, we will not allow Lincolnshire to be a dumping ground for industrial scale development that harms the intrinsic quality of our county.

“We need to be reassured that the effects any proposals will have on the landscape, the local economy, and the environment have all been thoroughly considered and tested against Treasury Green book principles. In addition there has to be widespread public consultation with evidence that any proposals to be brought forward have been developed with the community voice at the heart of those proposals."

Lincolnshire County Council has responded to National Grid’s recent consultation objecting to their proposal to run 140km of 50m high electricity pylons through the Lincolnshire countryside between Grimsby and Walpole in Norfolk. The council will also commission an independent report into to impact the plans would have on the area.

Mr Warman has also now issued his official objection to National Grid’s proposals.

He said the report proposes a network that has three times more undersea cabling than onshore infrastructure by 2035.

"Given this is the plan, which I broadly support, I am concerned that this information was not made public prior to the closure of the National Grid consultation on stringing above-ground pylons across Lincolnshire,” he said.

“National Grid’s narrow consultation gave no consideration beyond high level costings of the undersea option I supported along with so many of my constituents and my neighbouring MPs.

“Broad details of the offshore grid were shared with MPs last week but were embargoed.”