Lincolnshire County Council’s executive are commissioning an independent report into the impacts of National Grid’s proposal to erect 420 pylons around 50m high, through the Lincolnshire countryside.
At a meeting this week, the executive agreed to put in a formal objection to the scheme that would see 140km of high voltage electricity cables, pylons and substations run through the county from Grimsby to Walpole in Norfolk.
An independent analysis is also being commissioned to look at the impacts the pylons could have on Lincolnshire including putting farmland out of use, the visual impact on the flat landscape, the effect on tourism and air traffic limitations.
Cllr Martin Hill, leader of the county council said: “The council’s view is that National Grid have dismissed a valid alternative of putting the cables on the sea-bed, and instead plan to blight our landscape and affect our countryside and coastal communities for generations to come. We are keen to take urgent action to get all the information about the options. If necessary we will take legal action to challenge the reasoning that this infrastructure is the best solution.”
Cllr Colin Davie, executive councillor for environment and economy, said: “We know there is much opposition to this plan across the whole of the affected area. It simply makes no sense that electricity generated in Scotland can be transported to Grimsby via off-shore cables, to then come on shore through Lincolnshire taking power to the south of the England. Once again, our beautiful county is being seen as a dumping ground for large scale energy infrastructure of no benefit to us, but that will have considerable negative impacts on our residents.”